Lightheaded
by purebristles
Summary: [LM] Another reception, another meeting. Why did they take so long to acknowledge what was simmering beneath the surface between them? [Complete.]
1. Don't Look Down

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
Chapter 1: Don't Look Down**

Lightheaded all of a sudden, Luke closed his eyes briefly as he felt the blood in his head go rushing... somewhere else. Somewhere tight. And getting tighter by the minute. "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down..." He chanted that mantra over and over in his head, knowing that it was futile.

She looked down.

Quirked an eyebrow.

"Oops," she breathed out, in a tone that did nothing to support the notion that what she had just done was intentional.

"Did I do that?"

And he watched, mesmerised, as she put one hand over his bulge.

The part of his brain that was so far unoccupied by the surreal scene unfolding right before his eyes thought: "This is not happening to me."

-----

It was supposed to be a simple reception for the Ambassador of some world or other which recently joined the New Republic. He wasn't even supposed to be on planet for more than a day or two – he had arrived to meet the engineers of the company which supplied battle drones for Yavin IV, to test out their new prototype battle droid. It was part of a contract which he signed when he established the Praxeum, agreeing that he would conduct usability (and durability) testing for five models of the company's battle droids each year. In return, the Jedi Academy would be given two hundred battle droids per year to use for Jedi training purposes.

He shuddered as he remembered the legal wrangling that went into that contract. Thank goodness Leia had sent him in with a brilliant law student (the Academy couldn't afford to pay anyone legal fees, and he didn't want to be beholden to Leia or the NR) who managed to see the holes in the original contract, and drew up another, tighter (and two hundred pages longer) agreement. He shuddered to think that he could have been on the Holonet endorsing their battle droids to the whole galaxy, had Isaar not been there to catch the clause. He recalled the last conversation they had, after the final signing of the contract had been completed.

-----

_"Thank the Force that's done," Luke commented to Isaar after they had signed the final contract. "I don't know what I would have done without you."_

_"It's an honour, Master Luke," Isaar said. "Everyone in the faculty is envious that I get to meet with you, and some of the contract law professors are dying to take a look at the final contract that you just signed, no doubt to tear my work apart as 'academic critique'." Isaar smiled as they descended from the droid company's office._

_"I'll take your word for it, and lunch's on me today," Luke said as they walked toward a row of eateries. "But if you ever need help that I'm able to give, please don't hesitate to send word to Yavin IV."_

_"Hmm..." A mischievous grin split Isaar's face, reminding Luke again that he was only a law underclassman, despite his genius in untangling difficult contracts. The fact was further underscored by his next statement. "Does your praxeum have any attractive female Jedi around my age?"_

_Luke's left eyebrow quirked as he gestured Isaar towards a Corellian eatery. "Not that I can think of, but you're welcome to Yavin to visit and…look for yourself." He grinned and shook his head. "But don't tell anyone I told you that. It wouldn't bode well for the galaxy to discover that the Jedi Praxeum is really a matchmaking agency, would it?" They laughed at this, settling down in their seats._

"_Then how about just Mara Jade?" Startled by the question, and at the mention of her name, Luke turned and frowned in confusion. "What about Mara Jade?" he asked._

"_Would you introduce me to her?" Isaar asked earnestly. "I've heard so much about her, but I've never even gotten close to seeing her. She's not really a celebrity, so she doesn't make public appearances, so nobody's really met her, but some of my friends and I have been having hypothetical debates on her legal position in the New Republic, what with her being an ex-Imperial and all, and…it would very, very cool to meet with her," he finished with a wry smile._

"_I'm not really sure if Mara Jade would welcome the attention, but I'll run it by her and we'll see how she takes it," Luke said sceptically. "If you find me missing and a pile of my clothes somewhere with lightsaber singe marks, know that she's made good on her long-ago promise to kill me, and tell my sister that I love her very, very much, and to please forgive Mara."_

They had a good laugh over that, and passed the afternoon pleasantly chatting over lunch.

This was the first time that he was to fulfil the terms of the contract, and he had not planned to stay more than a day to test the prototypes, but he had gotten lost somewhere along the way to the company's research facility, and thus arrived late for the prototype testing. As procedure dictated that a lengthy human-droid interaction debrief would ensue immediately after each test that he made on the battle droids, after testing three droids it was suggested (very meekly) by one of the engineers that the Jedi Master return the following day to complete the two other tests. Luke had immediately agreed, sensing the weak Force signatures of the testing group waning fast after the second droid test-discussion.

'Not that I'm fresh out of the oven myself,' Luke thought wryly, sniffing delicately at his clothes. He dug for his comlink and called Leia.

"Leia?"

"Good evening, how may I be of … Master Luke! How wonderful to hear from you! Is Artoo with you? It must have been several months since your last visit to Coruscant – "

"Hello Threepio, is Leia around?"

"Yes she is, and Captain Solo as well. Shall I get them for you?"

"Yes, that would be good. Thank you Threepio."

Luke yawned as he walked towards the research facility exit. He hoped that Leia would put him up for the night – anyway, it was her fault that he had to place to lay his head that night, she had wanted to re-do the interior of his apartment, so the least that she could do was to let him bunk in her guest quarters. Or, he yawned and stretched again, he could always put in a request for pilot quarters to the NRI, who normally oblige when they knew that it was The Skywalker calling.

Luke snorted in derision at the term. "The Skywalker" indeed. He was just a pilot that got lucky with the Force genes. It could have been anyone else in his shoes.

The comlink crackled to life.

"Luke! I thought I felt your presence somewhere. Back on Coruscant for a flying visit, or do you need a place to stay rent-free, since you probably blame me for wanting to make your apartment a little prettier?" Luke twisted his mouth sardonically at his sister's jibe.

"It was only going to be a day trip, but looks like it's going to take longer so yes, I'll take up your offer to stay at your place, thank you very much, and why yes, I'd love to have dinner too," he smiled into the comlink.

"Come on over. The twins are home, and your arrival has gotten them excited, so by the time you get here they should be bouncing off the walls, and I'll pass them to you to handle."

"I'll be there in a bit. Skywalker out." Luke closed the connection with a smile on his face, and made his way to Orowood Towers.


	2. Down, Down, Uncle Luke

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
Chapter 2: Down, Down, Uncle Luke**

"What do you think, Jacen? Shall we let Jaina down?" Jacen was seated Forcefully on his uncle's right shoulder, watching Jaina hover above him upside down. Both the twins were giggling uncontrollably at their uncle's antics.

"Down, down, Uncle Luke!" Jaina cried.

"Can you try getting right side up first by yourself? Remember how I taught you to push around the Force the other day? Try to get upright. Can you do that, Jaina?" Jaina looked thoughtful at that. "I'll try." With a frown on her face, her body wobbled a little as she poked around in the Force, trying to right herself while floating in mid-air. She manoeuvred until she was horizontal, but by then, a sheen of sweat had already formed on her brow.

Luke turned to his nephew. "Could you help her out?" Jacen nodded, and Luke felt him reach out through the Force to lend his twin a hand. Her furrowed brow cleared, and in no time, Jaina had not only righted herself, but had managed, with Jacen's help, to bring herself lightly down on the floor again. Jacen then nudged himself off of Luke's shoulder and slid to the floor as well.

Then both the twins looked up at their uncle expectantly.

Luke tried to look blasé about their excellent Force exercise. "Not bad, not bad…" Their small faces fell. "Not bad if you were a Jedi Master, but it was … very excellent work for you guys!" And with that pronouncement he proceeded to scoop them up, screaming in laughter, under his arms and hauled them physically to the dining table.

"Excellent work, both of you! Now wash up for dinner and help to set the table," he let them go and they scampered off to the 'fresher as Leia looked up from the news flimsy that she was reading. Luke flopped down on the couch beside her.

"They're growing so fast! I can't believe that they're eight already… it seems too soon, and I'm not done enjoying their cuteness yet…" Luke made a face at his own sentimentality.

Leia just raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait till you have children of your own. Han and I were perpetually worried when the children were younger – don't you remember the continual hiding, the planets that we had to send them off to, just to ensure that they were safe? I for one, am glad that those days are over. And I'm sure Winter is, too. All that hiding." She shook her head in distaste.

Luke regarded her for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. I'm glad they're training in the Force – they're getting better at it, and the twin connection really helps speed up the learning process. It's like what Jacen learns, Jaina picks up subconsciously once they link minds. It's amazing."

"Sort of like what we would have had if we had trained together," he tilted his head to look at her when caught the wistful note in Leia's tone. She was staring at the family holo on the wall. Leia made sure that one holo was taken once a year, and the last one had the entire Organa-Solo clan (plus one Skywalker) decked out in their finest. Luke patted his twin's knee. "What's done is done, and we're all here." Leia turned her eyes away from the holo and looked into her brother's eyes. He smiled. "Now, let's eat."

-----

Han returned home, Anakin in tow, a half hour after both sets of twins sat down for dinner. He sighed in exasperation when he saw Luke.

"No wonder Anakin suddenly wanted to return home from the carnival, after a day of 'I-don't-wanna-go-home-Dad'. So 'Uncle Luke', what have you brought for us in terms of presents?" Still in the middle of a huge bear-hug with Anakin, Luke simply rolled his eyeballs at Han. "Nothing but the best … I brought you the head of the Jedi Praxeum. What more could you ask for?"

Han grunted, unimpressed. "Well, if this head of the Jedi Praxeum could have rustled up a nice present of Corellian whiskey, the head of this household would have been more kindly disposed toward preparing the guest room for him."

"I've already done that myself."

"Oh." Han suddenly smiled. "In that case, welcome back, kid. How long are you here for?"

"Two days, maybe more. Droid testing at the Institute," Luke said, in anticipation of his next question.

"Counting today?" Han asked.

"I don't know, really, it all depends on the Institute. I've already commed Kam and Tionne to let them know that I might be here a while. They've got everything under control anyway, so there's no real rush for me to go back to Yavin."

"Please stay longer, Uncle Luke!" Anakin hopped up and down in anticipation. "It's the holidays, and there's the carnival at Millennia Square, and we can all go tomorrow!" "Yeah, let's all go tomorrow! Please Uncle Luke!" Jaina and Jacen added their entreaties to Anakin's.

Fixing his gaze on Anakin, Luke lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't you just spend the _whole_ day with your dad there today, Anakin?"

"But you weren't there!"

At that, Han looked a bit put-out. "Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" He folded his arms and mock-pouted at his youngest.

"But Daaad…it's Uncle Luke!" Anakin got off his seat and put his arms around his Father's waist, trying to mollify him. Giving an exaggerated sigh, Han threw his hands up in fake despair. "That's alright, I'll just be second best… or third, since I figure your mother's probably the second."

Leia tried to suppress a grin at that, but wound up looking extremely smug instead. "Oh, get that look off your face, Highnessness." At that, Leia's suppressed grin became a full one instead. She decided to oblige her children, and turned to her brother.

"Why don't you take the twins to the carnival tomorrow? Anakin can't go," she looked pointedly at her father's namesake, "because he already spent the day there today, and I suspect, all his allotted amount of credits for this carnival." Anakin, who had opened his mouth and looked like he was going to protest, shut it with a snap and started pouting.

"Well," Luke sat back in his chair. "I do have two more droids to test, but that shouldn't take longer than the morning. How about this, I go out, do the droid testing, come back here for lunch, and…" looking at the twins, "… fetch both of you?" Two pairs of shining eyes swivelled from their Uncle Luke's face toward their mother's. She nodded.

"Yes, that would be a …"

"Yaaay!"

"…good idea." Leia finished wryly. "Now, let's finish dinner, then we can get started on that holodrama we borrowed."

Dinner ended without further incident.


	3. Slumming It

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
Chapter 3: Slumming It**

It looked set to be a gorgeous day. The sun was just beginning to rise when Luke woke up, its early rays bringing the dark Coruscant night slowly through all the shades of blue before bursting forth into a supernova of indigo, orange and yellow. By the time yellow appeared, Luke was already up, breakfasted, and on his way to the institute. As was Leia, except that she was on her way to her office. Han was still sleeping when they exited the apartment.

Deciding to slum it for the day, Luke pulled a cap on and decided to take a public transport to the Institute. 'It's not that far away from here anyway, only about an hour or so,' he thought as he settled into his seat on the inter-city transport shuttle. He rather enjoyed riding about in the transport shuttle anyway; it was different from being in control all the time, where the responsibility of avoiding an accident rested solely on your shoulders as you manoeuvred between the skylanes.

About fifteen minutes had passed before the shuttle pulled into its fifth stop: Coruscant University. Luke spied a familiar figure moving sluggishly through the crowd. Their eyes met, and Isaar's eyes brightened in recognition. Luke quickly put a finger to his lips before Isaar could announce his presence to the whole shuttle. Isaar quickly shut his mouth and made his way toward the Jedi Master, who was saving the newly-vacated seat beside him for his young friend.

"It's a good thing you're quick on the uptake, or I might have been mobbed," Luke joked as Isaar sat down beside him.

"Well, you kind of learn to stay on your toes in the Law Faculty of the school, or you might end up without a practising licence after working your butt off for four years," Isaar retorted. Then yawned. "What are you doing on this shuttle anyway? Aren't you supposed to be on Yavin, and shouldn't you have taken a private shuttle or something?" And yawned again.

"I'm headed for that droid Institute which you helped me with, remember? And I felt like taking the public shuttle." Luke took a closer look at his friend.

"Oh, right, right. Is it time already? Wow, that's amazing, time really does move quickly," Isaar yawned again.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" Luke asked in a wry tone. "Where are you going right now anyway? Aren't classes supposed to be on?"

A horrified look came into Isaar's eyes. "Oh no, I didn't mean any disrespect, Master Skywalker! I've been studying all night for an examination tomorrow, and I'm on my way home to crash. I didn't meant that you were boring, honest!"

Luke was taken aback by the sudden change in the youth's behaviour. "Take it easy, Isaar, I was joking. You know, a joke? Like the ones that go, 'a thernbee, a Jedi and a Sith walk into a cantina'? And it's 'Luke', remember?"

Isaar frowned, puzzled. "Joke? 'A thernbee, a Jedi and a Sith walk into a cantina?' Won't they get stuck at the door?"

"Well, I never said it had to be a good joke," Luke shot back. Isaar yawned again. "Master Luke, I'm so sorry to do this to you, but I'm going to take a quick nap right now, could you wake up once we're near your stop? Because that's my stop too…" And with that, Isaar was out like a light.

Luke looked at the sleeping youth and smiled in amusement. "Kids," he thought, as he once again turned to watch Coruscant life pass by his transport shuttle.

-----

Another half hour elapsed before Isaar roused from his power nap. Rubbing his eyes, he turned towards his companion. To his surprise, the Jedi was dozing off as well.

"Well Master Luke, looks like the mind-numbing boredom of public transport has gotten to you as well," Isaar joked.

Luke yawned and shook his head to clear the cobwebs that had begun to gather in his mind. "I've always wondered why people fell asleep on transports. I really enjoyed looking at everything for the first half hour, but after that, it just got…"

"Boring?"

"Monotonous."

"Our stop's coming up in about," Isaar checked the electronic signboard in the shuttle. "Two minutes. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee before I concuss for the next six hours?"

Luke considered the offer for a moment before turning the offer down. "Besides, won't the caffeine keep you up?"

Isaar gave a soft whuff of laughter. "Caffeine? Master Luke, I'm a _law underclassman._ What do you think?"

Luke made a face. "Right, right, what was I thinking? You probably need to have it injected into you before it has any effect." The shuttle arrived at their stop, and they moved off the transport.

"It was good seeing you, Master Luke. I hope the droid testing goes well." Isaar made ready to leave.

"Wait!" Luke felt a little bad about turning down the invitation for coffee. "How about we have lunch after your nap?"

Isaar looked regretful at the offer. "I'm sorry, Master Luke, but I'll probably be sleeping till midday, and then I've still got to go through a bunch of cases for my exam tomorrow. Could I get a rain check on your offer till after my exams are over?"

"Sure, sure. Now please, don't let me keep you." Luke gave him a slight push. "Go home, sleep, eat, bathe, study. Be a productive member of the New Republic." Isaar waved goodbye to Luke as he exited the shuttle, and Luke walked to the droid testing facility.

-----

Droid testing that day went quicker than the previous day. Everyone was fresh, and the technicians and scientists had all gotten over their awe of the Jedi Master, so much so that a number of them had requested autographs and photographs with him after the day's testing was over. Luke obliged for a while, but excused himself once midday struck, citing his nephew and niece as the reason why he had to leave.

"But I'll be back next year for your next batch of droids, so take that as an incentive to stay in this job, I suppose," he remarked to laughter from the staff.

Turning on his heel, he left the Institute without a second glance, wanting only to return home to Jaina and Jacen. If he concentrated, he thought he could feel their impatience in the Force.

He smiled, and quickened his step.


	4. Millennia Meetings

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 4: Millennia Meetings**

Luke never knew there could be so many colours of food. How could there be so many toppings available for a single nerf-sausage burger? Chocolate rice and onions on a tomato-based pastry? How could one stand to eat sugar clouds that were pink, or blue, or green, and not be immediately sick to the stomach? How could one drink cafs that were purple in colour, with bubbles of carbon dioxide in them, and still live to tell the tale?

And more importantly, how had he lived without all this in his life?

Questions like these filled his mind throughout his afternoon spent with Jaina and Jacen at the Millennia Square Carnival. It was a toss-up who was more excited, the twins, or Luke – the closest he had ever been to a carnival was… well, maybe the huge party that occurred when Leia and Han got married, Luke thought with a squint.

"Aren't you guys tired yet? Why don't we sit down at the caf stand for a bit?"

"But Uncle Luke, you said we could go ride the Terrible Twisting Turn after the Caf Cup ride!" Jaina whined. Jacen picked up the refrain. "Yeah Uncle Luke, you said so, and the queue's really long, so we'll have to wait in line. Come on, you can rest while we queue, right?"

"Or you could use the Force to make them all want to go on other rides!" Jaina giggled, but Jacen nudged her hard in the ribs and shushed her. "She didn't mean it, Uncle Luke, really, honest. She was just joking, right Jaina?" Glaring at his twin, he sent her rudimentary feelings of dissatisfaction and annoyance over the Force, which Luke picked up.

"Jaina, you know that that's not the right attitude to take, and I'm surprised at you. How could you say such a thing?" Luke paused after his rhetorical question, knowing instinctively that she wouldn't have an answer for him, but needing to make her sweat a little after her small misdemeanour. Quite frankly, he was disappointed, but he wasn't surprised at her attitude. She was, after all, only eight. To her, the Force was probably a sixth sense that made her feel special, and was to be made use of.

He turned to his nephew. "Jacen, control your temper better. Remember the Jedi teaching I mentioned? Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and…"

"…and hate leads to suffering. I remember, Uncle Luke. I'm sorry." Jacen chewed on his lower lip, looking pensive. With another upturned eyebrow from his uncle, his mouth shaped a silent 'oh', and he turned to his sister. "I'm sorry too, Jaina."

"Me too."

The little party took a little breather from the sudden change in mood. Jaina, impatient to be gone, decided to break the little impasse.

"Can we go queue up for Terrible Twisting Turn now, please? With no Jedi tricks, of course," she added quickly, with a swift glance at her uncle.

Deciding that they needed a break from each other, and that the Noghri bodyguards would stick by even closer to the children if they were alone, Luke decided to let them queue on their own.

"Jacen, you've got the ten credits for the ride?" Jacen nodded. "And your comlink?" Another nod from him. "Then why don't you and Jaina go queue for the ride. Com me just before you get to the head of the queue so that I can see you guys turning green," Luke tousled the boy's hair and gave him a gentle nudge toward the ride. "I'll sit here and meditate in the Force and try to predict who pukes the most from the ride."

"Thanks Uncle Luke! C'mon Jaina!" The joke lost on him, Jacen grabbed his twin and took off without a second glance. Luke gave Gharrbsh, the head of the childrens' Noghri security force a nod. Gharrbsh nodded back once, then disappeared from behind the large tent where he was keeping an eye on the twins from. Luke knew that he probably just called for his backup team to active duty, now that the twins were without his protection, but he also knew two things: one, that if twenty Noghri weren't enough to take down whatever harm might befall the twins, another Jedi Master wouldn't make a difference, and two, the twins really did need a short break away from him after another Jedi teaching episode.

Luke sighed as he sat down. He ordered a cold chocolate drink from the droid that came to serve him, and sat back to ponder on the events that had just transpired. How he had to be both Uncle Luke, as well as the Jedi Master, looking after two very young apprentices. He closed his eyes tightly as the sudden cold from the drink crept up his sinuses to his temples.

How had the Masters from the Old Republic done this, Luke wondered, not for the first time. There was such a delicate balance between making the children understand the importance and the power of their Jedi heritage, and allowing them to have their childhood.

'That is why we are a Republic, and not an Empire,' Luke thought. 'So that we could have our children, and they could have their childhoods.' He reached out to check on their auras. All he could feel was a general feeling of excitement, with a tinge of boredom underlying from both of them. He smiled. 'Probably because waiting in line is absolutely no fun,' he thought. 'Why hasn't anyone come up with a good way of entertaining children while they wait in lines?' he wondered. Half-opening his eyes, he looked around.

And saw someone sitting at his table, directly across from him.

"Jade."

"Skywalker."

"I didn't hear you sit down."

"That's because I didn't want you to."

"You're good."

"I know."

"That's some thick skin you've got there, Jade."

"All the better to shrug off knife attacks, Skywalker. And you've got," she reached over the table as Luke tried not to flinch, "extremely burnt skin." She gestured towards his collarbones. "Getting yourself in trouble again, I see."

He raised both his eyebrows in mock surprise. "It's the midday Coruscant sun and a carnival without much shade. And when have you known me not to be in trouble, Jade?"

She gave a half-shrug, noncommittal, and sat back in her seat, giving him a brief respite from their rapid-fire conversation, and a chance for him to appraise her critically. She was dressed very differently from her normal gear. Today, she was in a loose pair of black pants, and an equally loose tunic. A hat of some sort sat on the seat beside her, and her normally red-gold hair was covered up with a straight, black-haired wig. She was also carrying a boxy sort of bag, the sort that looked vaguely like what a holographer would carry.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"I could ask the same of you, Jedi," she countered smoothly.

Deciding that childishness was the way to play it, he replied, "I asked you first."

"I asked you second." She looked calmly at him, the only hint that she was enjoying their exchange being an extremely minute tic by the side of her right eye, almost undetectable except to those who knew where to look.

"Carnival. Jaina. Jacen. Me, Uncle. You?"

"Carnival. Client. Meeting. Me, working."

"No wonder the hideous wig."

"It's not hideous, it's incognito."

"It couldn't be incognito; anyone who's seen it probably remembers it as the most hideous-looking wig in the whole galaxy."

"You're just jealous because your hair's such a boring colour."

"Hey, I'll have you know it that on some worlds, blondes apparently have the most fun," Luke retorted.

"And I'll have you know on some other worlds, blondes are considered the galaxy's airheads." She gestured to the serving droid who had been cleaning the next table. "I'll have what he's having." She waved her hand at Luke's drink. The droid dispensed the drink and left. She picked up the drink and waited.

"What?" He asked.

"No comeback?"

"You spoiled the momentum!"

"You stopped replying!"

That stopped him short.

"But… you spoiled the momentum… ordering your drink," he finished lamely, knowing that he was beaten.

"Why are you really here?" He asked her hurriedly, to cover up the fact that he had, in a sense, lost their verbal sparring match.

"Oh, business. We had to provide some information to someone who needed confirmation on something." She tossed her fake hair over her shoulder, and sipped her drink.

He smiled. "That's as vague as you can get. I know _exactly_ what you are referring to."

"Oh you do, do you?" Taken aback by her careless attitude, he tried to look at her more closely without appearing to be staring at her or scrutinising her.

Putting a sabacc face on, he smiled. "Of course I do."

Jade put down her drink and leaned forward. "I think you're bluffing, Jedi. Because I think if you knew what I was doing here, you wouldn't like it one bit."

Maintaining his façade, he didn't drop his grin as he too, put down his drink and leaned forward. "Oh really, Jade? Then why don't you enlighten me as to what you, successful trader, are doing here in the middle of the afternoon, at a children's carnival, dressed hideously," he paused to give the wig a look of distaste. " – and carrying what looks like a holographer's bag?"

She sat back with a smug look on her face. "You're digging for information rather poorly, Skywalker. Are you forgetting that I trained with the best?"

Luke smiled, and dropped his act. "Alright, so I don't have your skill for interrogation techniques. So I'll just ask you, as an ignorant blonde wanting to know the truth: why are you here, Jade? I'm really curious."

She sighed. "I told you, someone wanted information, and wanted it passed to them in public to ensure their safety. That's all I can tell you. The information was traded when I gave him my holocam, in exchange for another holocam."

Luke raised his eyebrows in appreciation of the method of information delivery. "That's a novel way of exchanging information…I never thought that holocams could be used as a method of delivery."

"Who says that the messages were in the holocams?"

"But you just said…"

"Think about it a bit, Jedi. Or don't, it's not important. Is that your comlink or mine?"

Luke looked down at his comlink, which had started sounding. "Mine. The twins are about to get on the Terrible Twisting Turn now." He finished his drink quickly. "Would you like to come see them throw their guts out after they get off?"

Jade grinned, and finished her drink. "And me, with a real holocam at the ready to capture the future of the Jedi Order, getting sick." She stood up, and threw a couple of credits on the table. "Lead the way."

"I was going to pay for the drinks, you know."

"I know."


	5. Home Sweet Home

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 5: Home Sweet Home**

Mara stayed as long as it took to take a few holos of both the twins with wobbly legs. They obliged her, but were reticent after the wild ride, and they didn't know her well enough to feel comfortable around her. Luke was sorry to see her leave, but she had to file the final report with Karrde for the transaction that just transpired, and had to return to their Coruscant office in order to do so.

"Goodbye Jacen, Jaina." She shook hands solemnly with the twins. "Skywalker." She gave him a nod as an informal farewell.

"How long more will you be on planet?" Luke called out after her retreating form.

She turned her head and replied cryptically, "I'll be around." Without losing her stride, she disappeared into the carnival crowd.

'Well, that's that.' Luke thought. He turned to his charges. "Is it time to go home yet?" The twins, looking a little green around the gills, nodded weakly in unison. Taking pity on their conditions, Luke picked up his comlink to call for a pickup from Leia's transport. They didn't look like they would survive a trip on the inter-city shuttle, Luke thought with a fond look at the twins.

Out loud, he said to them, "That's what you get when you eat two sugar clouds, a nerf-burger with all the toppings, and then go on a twister ride."

Jacen groaned, and clutched at his stomach, while Jaina sat down on the ground abruptly. "I want to go home now, please," she said to Luke faintly.

Luke looked around for Gharrbsh, and gestured for him to come over. Picking Jaina gently up, and Gharrbsh doing the same for Jacen, the party walked off in the direction of the transport pickup point.

-----

Luke wasn't surprised to find the apartment empty except for Artoo. Leia was naturally at work, and Han had mentioned something about running diagnostic tests on some new equipment that the military was considering purchasing for the fleet, and Ackbar had wanted his opinion on them. He assumed that Anakin probably begged successfully to be brought along.

He and Gharrbsh laid the twins down on their beds in their shared bedroom (they had fallen asleep on the ride back home), and Luke went to his own room after they were settled. Deciding to wash off the dirt and grime from the carnival and the droid testing (_had it only been that same morning?_ he wondered to himself), he stripped off his clothes and took a long, leisurely shower. He had just stepped out of the shower and was towelling off his hair when Leia returned.

"Hello! Anyone home?" Luke smiled at the mundanity of her greeting. Who knew the figureheads of the one-time rebellion lived such regular lives? He padded barefoot toward the living room.

"Stretch those Force muscles, dear sister, and tell me: how many of us are home?" Leia started at his voice, then smacked his arm. "Luke! Don't scare me like that! I thought no one was home!"

Indignant at being smacked for no good reason, Luke exclaimed, "You just asked if there was anyone home! What's the point of asking that if there's no one around to answer it?"

"Well, it could have been a rhetorical question, or I could have been waiting for Artoo to answer it instead, you know." Leia made an impatient sound in her throat, and then Luke felt her stretch out in the Force. She stopped quicker than he anticipated.

"Jaina and Jacen and you. That's all I can feel." She closed her eyes and checked once more. "Yes. That's all I can feel… in my apartment, anyway. And they're tired. And…sick?" She opened her eyes and looked at him, an unasked question in her eyes.

Luke was pleased. "That's right! You're really getting good at sensing people, Leia. The twins are fine," he hurried to inform her. "Just a few too many sugar clouds, and a ride on the twister."

"You let them go on that thing? No wonder they're sick." Leia shook her head and half smiled. "At least they'll stop asking me next time a twister comes around, now that they know it's like navigating the Maw in zero-G." She stuck her tongue out, pretending to throw up.

Luke laughed at his sister's antics. "You're in a good mood this evening, what happened? Fey'lya resigned?"

Leia made another face. "Don't spoil my good mood by mentioning that Bothan. I'm happy because we made a major breakthrough with another world which was part of the Imperial Remnant forces. Their world is extremely rich in metals, and goodness knows we're never in excess of those, now that we've got the Navy-Shipyard agreement signed." She stretched, then continued her explanation. "They've been waffling about with the NR agreement for about a week now, and we couldn't figure out why they were nitpicking. It seemed like they were stalling for time, but we just didn't know what they wanted."

"A better trade agreement, perhaps?"

Leia shook her head. "The trade agreements are negotiated separately from the NR-Alliance agreement. The NR agreement is basically nothing more than a document stating that a world's political allegiance lies with the NR, nothing more. Trade agreements are specific to worlds due to the idiosyncrasies of each world's economic systems. And trade agreements take forever to detail, which is why we decided to separate the two agreements in the first place."

Now it was Luke's turn to shake his head. "That sounds simple enough. How come you take so long to do your work if it's all so easy?" He sat down on the couch and switched on the holotube, then muted the sound.

"My dear brother, I'm not even going to justify that with an answer." She sat down beside Luke and started to flip idly through the selection of channels. "Oh, by the way, the conclusion of this agreement means that there'll be a reception."

Luke picked up a cushion and smothered his groan. "No, no, no, no, no, no…"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, dear brother." Leia pulled the cushion away from him.

Luke groaned. "Can't you tell them that I'm on vacation on the planet? With my nephews and niece? Look – they've even got us on the holotube!" And suddenly realised that he was ON the holotube. Scrabbling around on the couch for the controller, he found it and un-muted the sound.

_"…and then the Solo twins decided that it was time for an escapade! Leaving their Uncle at the caf stand, here is a shot of the twins after they got off from the carnival ride… looks like they had a rollicking good time, judging from the green of their faces! Ha-ha! Now you might have thought that the Jedi master might have been simply taking a breather from taking care of the children, but it looks like he had a secret agenda of his own! More when we return…" _

Leia stared at the holotube in disbelief. "They're eight! They don't warrant any attention like this…what has gotten into these people? Is it a slow news day?" She stood up, her face showing warring emotions – halfway between a burst of hysterical laugher, and grave concern for the new security threat this sort of intense media attention would place on her children.

Luke turned off the holotube. "I guess they really didn't have anything else to put on tonight, Leia. It's not as if the twins are celebrities; they're not going to end up in the gossip pages everyday. Don't worry, we'll probably never see anything like this ever again," he said in a soothing voice to his sister.

"Don't try to tell me that this is nothing, it reeks of the potential to become a really great big something." Leia switched the holotube back on to the same channel, intent of watching the rest of the new report.

_"…while the Jedi Master was cooling his heels with an unnamed brunette over at the caf stand! You can only see her profile from this shot that we have, but we know that all you single girls out there are dying to know who this lucky girl is, and our reporters are working overtime to dig that information out for you, so tune in again this time tomorrow for more!" _

The Jedi Master was left watching the credits roll with his mouth wide open, while Leia smirked.

"Brother mine, I think I can safely say that the twins are safe from the holopress for now."


	6. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 6: Something Wicked This Way Comes**

"That's just unacceptable! Can't I do anything about it? I don't want this!"

Isaar shook his head. "I'm sorry, Master Luke, there's nothing that can be done. You were in a public place, and they have their rights. If they had harassed you or your niece and nephew, we might still have some basis on which to push for a court order against that one holochannel from stalking you. But as it stands, you were wholly unaware of their presence, and you were in a public location."

Luke sighed, and raked his fingers through his hair. He had commed Isaar once the news story on him and the twins broke on mainstream channels to find out if Isaar would be willing to help him sort the mess out after his final exams were done, which Isaar was happy to. However, it looked like there was nothing that could be done to protect the Solo children from future media attention. 'And myself too,' Luke thought privately.

"I'm actually more worried about the children's' safety. If the kids grow up with this continual spotlight on them, they'll have no privacy at all, and their increased media profile would only make them more attractive to kidnappers." He paused, remembering the time when they had been kidnapped by Lord Hethrir. He clenched his teeth and fisted his left hand when he remembered how impotent he had felt when they were missing.

"Can't we do anything?" he pleaded. Isaar looked down at his caf for a moment, then raised his head. "There is one thing which you might want to try, but…" he hesitated.

"Yes?" Luke prompted.

"…but you might not like it, and neither might Senator Organa-Solo." Isaar twisted his lips sardonically. "It's a bit unorthodox, but there have been certain monarchies which have tried it with varying degrees of success."

"And?" Luke prompted again.

"You could try…negotiating an agreement with the holochannels and different holopress agencies, to leave the children alone until they reach a certain age."

Luke was astonished. "You mean that such agreements exist?" Isaar nodded. "But remember, these agreements are _informal_ in nature, and you'll probably have to give them an information subsidy to placate them from time to time." At Luke's blank look, he explained, "Not money, but perhaps release official photos occasionally of the children doing some activity, like celebrating their birthdays, for example. There's no escaping the fact that the children are newsworthy in their own right, so you'll have to make some form of a trade-off."

Luke looked a little pensive at this. "I'll have to talk to Leia, but it sounds like an idea that we could use. Perhaps at least until the children are of legal adult age." Isaar nodded in agreement. "Legal adult status is normally the age agreed upon by both parties."

"I want them to leave me alone too. Do you think that I could pass off as a fifteen-year old?" Luke deadpanned.

"No offence, Master Luke, but that ship boarded and sailed many, many moons ago." Isaar countered smoothly as he sipped his drink. They both shared a laugh. Isaar abruptly asked Luke, "Have you given any thought to my request to meet Mara Jade?"

The easy smile faded from Luke's face, and was replaced by a wary one. "Well, I could com her to see if she's on planet, if you really want to see her. Is your request a particularly urgent one?"

"As a matter of fact, it is." Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Why?" Isaar's gaze flickered past Luke's chair.

"Because she's headed our way."


	7. Cold Chocolate

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating:M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 7: Cold Chocolate**

Luke had enough time before Mara reached their table to compose his features into an unflappable mask of calmness – quite, quite contrary to what his roiling stomach was telling him. Feeling rather uncertain about the ambiguous feeling he was experiencing and not really knowing why he was feeling that way, he mentally told his digestive system to shut up and calm down, stood up, and turned to greet her.

"Hello, Mara."

"Skywalker. I didn't know you swung both ways." Mara nodded at Isaar, who was looking at her with ill-disguised excitement shining in his eyes.

Luke gave Mara a pointed look. "That wasn't very nice of you, Mara. Why don't we start again. Hello Mara, this is Isaar, a good friend of mine. Isaar, this is Mara Jade."

Mara shook the hand that was proffered to her. "It's an honour to meet you, Miss Jade. I've heard so much about you."

"Hello there."

Luke gestured to one of their table's empty chairs. "If you're not in a hurry, why don't you have a seat and join us for a caf? Isaar here has wanted to meet you for some time now."

"Oh really?" Mara pulled the chair out, sat down, and turned to Isaar. "And why, pray tell, is that?"

Luke gestured for the droid to come over. "Isaar's a law underclassman at Coruscant University. Hot chocolate?"

"Cold one today, thanks. Law underclassmen are only interested in one thing when they see me – you want to ask me about my legal status in the New Republic, do you not?" Mara fixed Isaar with a steady gaze.

"I'd like to state for the record that there actually **_are_** official statistics to show that that's not the only thing law underclassmen are interested in when they see you, Miss Jade." Isaar said dryly. "But yes, I am interested in your views on the matter. Law practitioners can debate until the banthas herd home on this issue, but I've wondered about what you personally thought about the matter. Straight from the Tauntaun's mouth, if you'll allow me another metaphor."

Accepting the cold glass that Luke passed to her with a nod of thanks, Mara paused to stir her drink with her straw before answering Isaar. "Quite honestly, I don't bother thinking about it too much. There are thousands of Imperials who defected after the Empire fell, and they weren't persecuted for being on the wrong team, so why should I be? And before you start on the 'personal assassin to the Emperor' debate," Mara said pointedly when Isaar tried to interrupt, "Let me remind you that among the defectors were stormtroopers, some Moffs, and a handful of Royal Guards. They also carried out killing orders from the Emperor, so if they have escaped punishment, or have been unofficially pardoned by the New Republic, I do not see why I should not be given the same courtesy."

"That's true, but what about the fact that your direct superior was the Emperor, and not some other military commander whose power resides ten times below the Emperor's own hierarchy level?" Isaar argued.

Mara just smiled at this. "And where did you get this information?"

"You're the Emperor's Hand, and it only stands to reason… oh. Proof beyond the shadow of a doubt?" Isaar looked a little crestfallen.

Mara nodded. "Any and all information about me as the Emperor's Hand originated from either myself, or someone dubiously placed within the Empire – but there are no written records identifying me as a Hand. I do believe that there are documents _alluding_ to certain personal assassins to the Emperor, but I myself have not been able to find any concrete documentation regarding my status during the time of the Emperor's reign." Mara's expression turned sly. "Not to say that I wouldn't have destroyed it had I found any, of course."

"And who's to say that you haven't already done that?" Isaar looked thoughtful.

"Precisely."

Luke, who had been following the conversation closely, decided to chime in. "So you're not afraid of the NR making an example of you through legal prosecution of war crimes?"

Mara shook her head as she sipped from her straw. "With what evidence? It's all circumstantial at best, and they can't prove anything. They could make life for me rather uncomfortable for the period during the arrest, but there is no way they can go through with a full trial."

Luke nodded, a small smile on his face. "Well, I for one, am glad that you're safe from the NR legal system. You seem to have thought this out very thoroughly."

"If it were your life on the line, Jedi, you'd think long and hard about it too," Mara retorted.

There was a lull in the conversation as they all took a break from the discussion to sip at their drinks. Finally catching hold of the stray questions which had been hovering at the edges of his mind ever since the legal discussion started, he turned to Mara. "Why are you here, by the way? It's the middle of the work-week."

"I was actually looking for you, to give you these." Mara reached into her jumpsuit pocket and pulled out six holostills, and a holoroll. They were the pictures taken of the twins at the Carnival, in all their sick glory. Luke just had to laugh as he flipped through them. "Oh, they're going to love these… Leia and Han too." Passing them over to Isaar to take a look, he turned to Mara. "Thanks. Would you like me to pay you for them?"

Waving a hand airily, Mara shook her head. "It's on the house. The holoroll includes some other pictures as well. I only printed the six that had them looking the most ill."

Luke chuckled. "I'm sure that they'll appreciate that. I'm sure Han will insist that we frame it and put it up in their bedroom."

"Your brother-in-law has a twisted sense of humour."

"He has his moments."

A comlink buzzed. They all turned their heads, checking their comlinks in unison. It was Isaar's, and he excused himself to take the call. Mara then turned to Luke.

"Why are you hanging out with law underclassmen?"

Luke frowned slightly. "Don't you remember the Praxeum droids? The one with the research institute?"

Mara nodded. "Wasn't that the one that was going to give you a set of droids yearly? Didn't you sign that contract already?"

"Yes I did, but Isaar helped me get out of a clause stating that the company could request endorsements from any and all of the Jedi for their droids."

Mara gave a low whistle. "Trust you to not read the contract. Although I have to say that it would have been interesting seeing the Jedi on the holonet endorsing some battle droid…or a kitchen utensil!"

Luke smirked at the idea of Tionne brandishing a spatula and extolling its virtues to the galaxy. "Look who's got the twisted sense of humour now?"

Isaar returned, a sheepish expression on his face. "Uh, Master Luke, Miss Jade, I'm afraid that I'll have to take my leave now. I have to return home."

Luke was concerned. "Is everything alright at home? Did something happen?"

Isaar's expression turned even more sheepish, the hint of a blush colouring his cheeks. "Well, uh, Master Luke… it's my mother. She wants me home for dinner."

Luke and Mara looked askance at him, while he blushed even harder. "I know, I know, but she's my mother, and I'm the only child, and my father died in one of the rebellion battles, and I really don't mind her fussing because I know where it comes from…"

Luke put his hand on his young friend's arm. "Don't worry, Isaar, we understand. Too many lives were lost then, and your duty and love to your mother is to be commended, not laughed at. I'll get the tab, you go on home." Isaar nodded.

"Thank you for counting me among your friends, Master Luke. Miss Jade," Isaar turned to Mara. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for answering my questions. I believe you'll make me the talk of the law faculty for at least a month. Or two weeks. I'm only sorry that Mr Karrde was not with you."

"It was my pleasure, Isaar."

"Goodbye Master Luke, Miss Jade." Isaar took his bag from under the table, and waved as he left.

Mara turned to Luke.

"Nice kid."

"No kidding."

"Urgh, Skywalker, that was bad."

Luke grinned. "I know."


	8. These Boots Were Made For Walking

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 8: These Boots Were Made For Walking**

"Urgh, Skywalker, that was bad."

Luke grinned. "I know."

Mara finished her drink and started fiddling about with her glass. She looked at ease, and Luke decided to take the risk of stirring up a hornet's nest.

"Mara, have you been watching the holotube recently?"

She favoured him with an amused gaze. "So…I hear you've been spotted with a brunette recently. Anyone I know?"

He frowned in confusion even as he felt the knot at the bottom of his stomach that he didn't know he had dissipate. "You're not mad?"

Sounding surprised, Mara asked, "Should I be? There's nothing to link that woman to me, and nobody's been snooping around me. I should be rather pleased, in fact. Shows that my disguises are effective… but I guess I'll have to retire that wig for a while."

"Oh." He hadn't thought of it that way. In fact, he thought that Mara might have been rather angry at the holopress for invading her privacy like that, but after her explanation, he realised that she was right – they didn't recognise her, and they wouldn't be bothering her for information… unless, of course, they found out who she was.

"Anyhow," Mara continued over his thoughts, "I might not even need to retire that wig, considering how many women have gone straight brunette over the last two days. Amazing what lengths women will go to in order to get your attention," she smirked.

Luke frowned in confusion. "Why would women want to go brunette? Assuming that I'm already with someone, which I'm _not,_" he said swiftly, with a quick glance at Mara. "Whether or not they're brunette or blonde or redheaded doesn't make any difference to their status, does it?"

Mara gave a small whuff of laughter. "Skywalker, are you just trying to be dense, or are you really that dumb?"

Luke grinned, and decided to indulge her. "So I'm dumb. Enlighten me, Master Jade."

Mara gave him a quick warning glare before answering him. "They all figure that it's your preferred hair colour for choosing your ladies. So in the event that the 'mystery woman' doesn't work out, you'll be more inclined to pick another brunette. They just want to be ready."

"That's ridiculous!" Luke exclaimed.

"That's what I thought too. Hey, do you have that kid's comlink frequency?"

Startled at the sudden change in topic, he asked, "Why?"

Mara sat back in her chair and stretched out her legs. "I think he wanted to meet Karrde, and since he's on planet…"

With a small smile on his face, Luke teased her. "Why, Miss Jade, I never knew you to be such an altruistic patron of the university. Will you be sponsoring the medical wing next, with next quarter's profits?"

Mara waggled a finger in front of Luke's face. "Now now, sarcasm does not befit the head of the Jedi Praxeum."

Grabbing her finger to still it, he shook his head at her. "Neither does finger shaking befit the Emperor's Hand."

"_Former_ Emperor's Hand, Jedi."

"Whatever." He released her finger. She massaged it absently while she pushed her chair back slowly to stand up, the legs making a soft keen as it dragged across the floor.

"Well, Skywalker, it's been fun, as always, but unlike Jedi masters, some of us actually have to work. Time to kill, people to hound, paper to push… or am I getting them mixed up?" Mara pretended to look innocent at that last statement.

"It was good seeing you. Thanks for the holostills, the kids will love them. Here's Isaar's com frequency," he hurriedly scribbled the number down on a piece of caf tissue.

"Thanks. See you around, Skywalker." And with a quick turn of the heel, she left, leaving Luke with three empty glasses of cold chocolate.

-----

Luke returned to Han and Leia's apartment to find that a pressed Jedi robe set had been laid out on the guest bed, with a huge note:

'**Pickup at 1930hrs, Coruscant Standard Time. BE READY, or you'll be babysitting all three of them for a month while Han and I take a vacation.'**

"Alright, dear sister, I get the holo," Luke murmured under his breath, amused. Leaving his room, he wandered about the empty apartment, the children having gone off somewhere with Chewy and their dad. The droids were nowhere to be seen – probably down at maintenance or wherever it was that droids hung out at. He had about three hours to pass before the pickup time, so he sat in the middle of the living room and started running through the Force drill that he had developed for use in Leia's apartment.

First, he meditated lightly, immersing himself in the Force to just reconnect. After about half an hour of that, he stretched his Force reach as far out and as wide as he could manage, feeling for bumps in the Force terrain, signalling a Force sensitive person's presence. He found Leia easily, thinking hard over something. He slowly made his presence known to her, and felt her mental swipe at him. It also felt like she was reminding him about the reception that night. He sent her a quick affirmative, and set up his shields again, not wanting to intrude. He found a couple of other Force-sensitives within the Imperial Palace, and then stretched out towards the central business district, locating a number of Gotals, a few humans, and three Twileks, all only slightly attuned to the Force, but creating a blip in his mental radar nonetheless.

He found Mara as well, but didn't uncloak his presence as he knew he would be dealt with the Force equivalent of a slap if she found him suddenly wandering about in her head. He stretched out even further, and found the children at the spaceport, learning about the Falcon's innards with Han and Chewy. A soft smile found its way onto his face as he touched their minds gently without uncloaking himself. Jaina and Jacen didn't respond to his touch, but Luke felt Anakin's attention waver from his father's technical explanations and turn inward as he sought an answer to the sudden soft pressure in his brain. Luke withdrew from Jaina and Jacen's minds, but stayed in Anakin's to see if Anakin could locate or identify him.

_Uncle Luke?_ Luke felt the tentative query come, directed at him. He sent an affirmative, and a short burst of pride to Anakin, and felt his nephew's pleasure radiating in the Force. He gently withdrew from Anakin's mind, and emerged from his meditation. Glancing at the chrono, he was surprised to see that he had been meditating for only an hour.

'That leaves me another two hours,' Luke thought to himself, even as he decided to move on to his next exercise – kinetics, or (as Luke privately thought to himself) the Cleanup Leia's Apartment exercise. He started small, picking up the children's playthings which were lying in corners, and putting them into the hardboard boxes that Han and Leia had designated for their children's toys. Making sure that he separated Jaina's 'girl toys' with Anakin and Jacen's toys, he finished his cleanup, and moved on to shifting about the furniture against the walls, leaving empty space around him – filled with dustballs, and the odd stray toy that had fallen underneath the couches and chairs. He picked up the rest of the toys, then stood up to activate the cleaning droid.

Bending over to locate the droid activation switch, he felt Han, Chewy and the children's presences draw nearer. Straightening up and smiling, he opened the door in advance to let them in.

"Uncle Luke!" Anakin was the first one through the door, and Luke scooped him up in his arms, laughing. "Uncle Luke, was it you? Did you call me in my head?" Luke looked at him and nodded, marvelling again at his own ability to feel so much love for one so small. "See Jaya! I told you it was Uncle Luke! And you and Jasa didn't feel him!" Anakin crowed over his small victory over his siblings.

"Hey, don't do that, Anakin, it's not nice," Luke chided softly as he let Anakin down. "Be a gracious winner. How would you like it if someone else won something which you didn't and said that?"

"Okay Uncle Luke!" The chiding seemed to wash over Anakin without penetrating his grey matter, and he scampered away into the kitchen to get a snack. Jacen was holding Han's hand, and Jaina, Chewy's. "Hello Chewy, Han. What was the lesson today?"

/The 'fresher and disposal systems./ Chewy growled. /The cubs need to know that it's not always the hyperdrive or the turrets that need fixing./

"But it was fun!" Jaina shook the hand that she was holding. "Can we go again tomorrow?"

"We'll see, honey. For now, please go take a bath and get that engine oil smell off," Han said as Jacen and Jaina obediently went to their room. /Not to mention other smells as well./ Chewy urfed softly at his own joke.

"Hey, you don't smell too great either, Fuzzball." Han said sardonically. "Looks like it's the shower for you as well." Chewy growled at that, but headed for his own room's sonic shower anyway.

Han turned to Luke. "Well, it certainly looks like you've been busy. What, couldn't wait till the droid activated itself?"

"I had some time to kill, and I needed some Force exercise anyway, so I just cleaned up a little." Luke regarded his handiwork, then glanced at the chrono.

"Oh stars! I've got to get ready myself, or Leia's going to kill me! Are you coming to the reception too?" Luke started to head towards the guest quarters.

"Nope, I managed to beg off this one. You're on your own, kid." Han grinned that lopsided grin of his.

-----

"Very nice, brother. How'd you like it? I had it tailor-made."

Luke had to admit that the inner cream robe fitted him like a glove without being too tight. Leia had also instructed her tailor to update the brown Jedi cloak, shortening it so that it didn't sweep the floor, and creating thinner arms so that it just managed to avoid looking like an oversized bathrobe. The cowl was still in place, which helped to identify the robe as a Jedi robe, but the robe's material was of a significantly higher quality than the rough weave used to make the regular robes.

All in all, Luke thought he looked pretty good!

"Stop preening and put on your boots so we can go."

"Yes, mom."


	9. Let Sleeping Krayts Lie

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 9: Let Sleeping Krayts Lie**

Luke noted that the reception was small and understated – probably a mere prelude to the larger celebration that would be held once the diplomats worked out the details of their trade agreement with the New Republic, he thought. When he and Leia arrived, she had pulled on his robe sleeve and hissed with amused consternation into his ear: "They were supposed to leave work at home tonight!" and left him to break up the informal trade talks which had developed thanks to a bunch of ten diplomats huddled in a corner over cocktail drinks.

Luke smiled, and watched her go. Bypassing the politically correct alcoholic cocktail, and opting instead for cold chocolate from a passing droid, he collected his drink and leaned against a pillar to scan the crowd. While his eyes moved from face to face, he also extended his Force senses and felt for the person's emotional state as a precaution. He scanned one diplomat after another, all with plenty of plans for revelry, but there was no sense of malice or discord within the room. He shifted his focus and regarded another section of the large function room, and was mildly surprised to see Talon Karrde at the gathering. Deciding that it was a good place to start mingling before Leia started on her usual round of boring introductions to stuffy politicians, Luke decided to say hi.

Karrde must have seen Luke making his way over, as he met the Jedi master halfway.

"Karrde."

"Skywalker."

Luke smiled. "Luke, please. What brings you to these parts tonight?"

Karrde returned the grin. "Business, what else?"

"Ah." They sipped at their drinks, both bodies half turned to each other, yet facing the room, as if both were only too aware what having your back turned to the main entrance could spell for one's safety.

"I suppose that Mara's here somewhere as well," Luke ventured, breaking the silence.

"Yes, she is. She brought a date, some kid." Karrde pursed his lips, as if he disapproved of the idea.

Luke felt a jolt of… something … when he heard that. "Oh really? Anyone I know?"

Karrde smiled, a sardonic gleam in his eye. "You should. You introduced them."

"What?" Luke's eyes grew round with surprise. "I introduced them?"

Karrde jerked his head towards the buffet table. "There. Young kid, fresh-faced as a day-old pitten?"

Not without some trepidation, Luke turned and saw… Isaar. A cold stab of… something … jabbed through his stomach. Mara and… Isaar? No, it couldn't be. He was too young for her, and she was…

_Why not?_ The Sith on his shoulder whispered. _It's not like you like her or anything. So why shouldn't she go out and have some fun? After all, that young nubile thing over there is with that white-haired diplomat, so why should Mara be any different?_

Luke cleared his throat to get rid of the lump that had formed there, and also to break the rather lengthy silence that had ensued when he was woolgathering.

"So, have you met Isaar?" he asked Karrde.

"Yes, Mara introduced us just now." Taking a couple of finger foods off a serving droid, he continued talking as he ate. "You owe me, Skywalker. The kid has been interrogating me about the shadier side of my business, and is trying to worm the secrets of the information trade from me."

Luke smiled mischievously. "I would have imagined that the great Talon Karrde would have been able to withstand the cross-examination of a mere law school underclassman. Or have reports of your great oratory skills been overrated?"

Karrde raised his eyebrows. "Law underclassman huh? Mara didn't tell me. Now I know why she was looking a little smug when she introduced her date to me."

Another pang of… something … streaked through Luke as he heard the word "date". _Her date…her date…her date…_ Karrde's offhand comment kept echoing through his mind as he struggled to control his composure.

"Speaking of Mara, where is she?" Luke turned around and looked around.

"Oh, she's around here somewhere. You know how she is – hypersensitive on Coruscant; even more paranoid than her usual self." Karrde gestured around airily, as if to indicate that Mara could be anywhere.

Luke made another effort at extracting information from Karrde. "I don't see her anywhere. What kind of dress is she wearing? Or what colour?"

Karrde raised his glass and toasted Luke. "That, my boy, is something you'll have to find out for yourself." And with an infuriating wink to Luke, he turned and walked away.

Luke frowned. What in stars name did Karrde mean by that last statement? Taking another sip from his drink, he turned to look for Leia, when he saw Isaar headed towards him.

"Master Luke! Master Luke!" Isaar hurried towards Luke with half a plate of food in his hand. "Master Luke!"

Luke forced a smile on his face as he turned to face Isaar. "Hello Isaar."

"I'm so glad to see you here! I wanted to express my thanks for introducing Mara to me." Isaar beamed with happiness to Luke, who was struggling with rather sudden, violent thoughts.

"I'm so glad that you're glad," Luke said lamely. "She's a wonderful person to know."

"At first, I thought that she would be rather cold, but after your introduction to us the other day, she called me up, and here I am!" Oblivious to the Jedi Master's discomfort, Isaar continued his enthusiastic prattle.

Luke had slammed down his mental shields once Isaar had started affecting his mood, for fear of alerting Leia, and other Force sensitives in the room to his distress. He was debating lifting his shields to call to Leia for help when he saw her drifting by with an empty glass in her hand, no doubt searching for a droid to refill her drink.

"Leia!" Interuppting Isaar in mid-sentence, but not giving a toss, Luke walked to Leia and almost dragged her to his corner with Isaar. "Leia, I do believe that you've met Isaar?"

Sending a puzzled glance at Luke, Leia greeted Isaar. "How have you been? Aren't Coruscant University's examinations on right at the moment?"

Looking very pleased that the former Princess recognised him, and remembered details about his life, Isaar beamed even more. "Yes, but I'm done with them for now. Thank you for remembering."

"Leia, I'm going to go off to use the 'fresher for a moment, I'll be right back. Isaar, excuse me." Luke found that Jedi patience or no patience, he could not tolerate a moment more of this… his…sham, and excused himself.

-----

Wanting only to get away, Luke hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Not wanting to lie, he found himself inside the 'fresher, washing his face. He stared into the reflective transparisteel, asking his reflection to explain his actions.

_What is the matter with you?_ He questioned. _So she dates. She's a woman. You're a man. She dates. You date. Or not. Does it matter?_ He felt his shields slip again, and pulled them up tightly again in exasperation. _It's not like you like her or anything… although she is gorgeous. _

_Ahh, who am I kidding_, Luke thought. _She is beyond gorgeous. She's… just my Mara._

"My Mara," Luke whispered to his reflection. "My Mara."

He stared at himself. One small part of his mind once again admired the new cut and fabric of the new Jedi robes. The other significant portion of his brain was busy analysing his relationship with his friend.

He pushed, she pulled. Or, more often than not, she pushed back. The arguments made for spectacular sexual tension, but there was never any payoff because they were just friends.

That's right, just friends.

Luke snorted quietly as he wet his hands and messed up his hair, trying to make some noise to justify his long stay in the 'fresher. If "just friends" meant that an argument normally escalates into a screaming match, and then into a full-blown lightsaber duel, then sure, they would be "just friends".

Of course he was attracted to her – she had a body as wicked as sin, hair that tempted angels, and a mouth that just begged to be ravished.

But he knew where he stood and hell – men could control themselves, contrary to popular belief. He did occasionally let himself forget that they were just friends, but he never allowed himself to dwell on the 'what ifs' and 'maybes'.

He sighed, and smoothed down his hair again. _Let sleeping krayts lie, Luke, let sleeping krayts lie.  
_

_And while you're at it, lie to yourself too._


	10. Mother Jade is your Mara

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: NC-17 (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 10: Mother Jade is your Mara**

Luke was just about to exit the 'fresher when there was a light tap on the door.

"Luke? Are you in there? It's me." Luke smiled. Trust Leia to enter the men's refresher stalls to find him. He opened the door.

"I'm fine, just felt a little stuffy in there, that's all. I just had to get away for a while." Leia still looked worried.

"Are you sure you're alright? You've been feeling rather… distressed this evening, is everything alright?" Luke was surprised that she could feel his discomfort; his shields must have slipped more than he thought if Leia could have picked his feelings up.

"Yes, I'm alright, I could have eaten something that didn't quite agree with me." He pushed her gently out of the men's area. "Now shoo, you shouldn't be here. I'll be out soon; I just need a few more minutes alone."

Leia started moving towards the door, but still regarded him with a concerned eye. The left side of her mouth quirked upwards a little though. "What's so funny, dearest sister of mine, heart's blood of my blood, other half of my being?"

Leia just gave him a smile with compressed lips. "Just thinking that it's an odd place to take a **_breathe_**r from a stuffy area." She pinched her nose and attempted to inhale, making choking noises as she did.

Luke gave up giving her small pushes and shoved her out of the door, hearing her tinkling laughter follow.

He stood in front of his reflection again, and regarded himself. _She probably called Isaar to invite him here in order to meet Karrde. That's the most rational, most sensible, and most likely reason behind their date tonight. So there's really nothing to worry about. _

_And even if they WERE dating, you should not care because you do not think about Mara Jade that way._ Luke tried very hard to psyche himself up before going out into the function room again. _You do not care. You do not care. Mara Jade is… your mother. Mara Jade is your mother. Mara Jade is your mother. Mother Jade is your Mara… _

Not even noticing the mistake that his mind made, Luke washed his hands and ran his fingers through his hair distractedly before exiting the 'fresher.

"Going somewhere, Jedi?" Luke jumped as he heard her voice. He turned toward her.

"Mara Jade, I was just lookin – " Luke's sentence was stillborn as he felt all thought (and blood) flee from his mind. _Just by looking at her?_ The still-functioning part of Luke's brain asked. _She's not even dressed up, and you're turned on?_

Mara just cocked her head to one side and looked at Luke. She was dressed in a plain, nondescript-looking black dress, which fitted her like a sock. Not too tight that she looked like an escort, but not too loose that she would find herself in the holopress's 'Frump Lump' pages the next morning. All in all, she looked very normal. 'Very Mara,' Luke thought. But with one difference. She was wearing her wig. She folded her arms across her chest, leaned sideways against the wall, and lifted an eyebrow at his rather dishevelled appearance.

"Looking for me? Or looking for another place to hide?"

Desperate to have something to say, Luke went on the defensive. "Who says I've been hiding?"

Mara smiled, a slow, knowing smile. "Oh please Luke, since when have you enjoyed one of these things?"

Giving her a wry look, Luke thanked the Force that the Jedi robes were so flowy, all the better to hide the physical manifestation of his attraction to the woman in front of him.

"True, true, I've always disliked the politicking. But that still doesn't prove that I've been hiding. I've just been… in the 'fresher more often than not. Last time I checked, that wasn't really considered "hiding"," Luke remarked.

Mara suddenly unfolded her arms and stepped closer to Luke. Startled, he stepped back – right into the wall, trapped. She bent over, reaching out to touch the lapels of his Jedi robe. Frowning a little in concentration, and squinting a little due to the dim lighting in tr unoccupied by the surreal scene unfolding right before his eyes thought: "This is not happening to me."

9CThis material, Skywalker… this new Jedi robe… the material and the cut is exquisite." Setting the lapel down on his chest and rubbing (caressing) the flow of the lapel, Luke clamped down on his thoughts and tongue and tasted blood.

She was too close.

Too close.

Lightheaded all of a sudden, Luke closed his eyes briefly as he felt the blood remaining in his head go rushing... somewhere else. Somewhere tight. And getting tighter by the minute. "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down..." He chanted that mantra over and over in his head, knowing that it was futile.

She looked down.

Quirked an eyebrow.

"Oops," she breathed out, in a tone that did nothing to support the notion that what she had just done was intentional.

"Did I do that?"

And he watched, mesmerised, as she put one hand over his bulge.

The part of his brain that was so far unoccupied by the surreal scene unfolding right before his eyes thought: "This is not happening to me."

Mara put the other hand to good use as she pulled his ear toward her mouth. Luke felt her hot breath on his ear as she whispered, "This is happening."


	11. Yes, Mom

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 11: Yes, Mom**

"Why now?" Luke asked urgently, trying hard to ignore the sensations rushing through his body Mara pressed her self against him. "Why now?"

Mara stilled against him, her mouth still by his ear. "Why not now, Skywalker?" She nipped lightly at his earlobe. "Don't deny that we've had…something…between us for a long time." Luke felt, rather than saw her smile. "And I don't mean this." And he saw stars as she pushed her pelvis against his hips.

"I…I…just think…" Luke was trying to gather his thoughts when he felt Mara push off him. His fevered body cried out for the loss, and he could not help but follow her warmth for a few inches before Mara pushed him against the wall again.

"You've been thinking too much tonight, Skywalker. Too much. And too loudly. I've not had a moment's peace since you arrived. Is that all your brain does? Think, think, think." Mara tilted her head and regarded him.

Luke folded his arms across his chest, his ardour cooling a little. "That's what it does best, you know, think. And right now, I'm thinking…"

"…that getting out of here would be a good idea." She finished for him.

Luke frowned in confusion. "How did you know…?"

Mara threw her hands up in consternation. "You've been projecting ever since you arrived, Skywalker! I've been trying to dampen you, but it's tiring me out, so you have got to repair and put those shields up now!"

"Oh." Luke chewed on that new tidbit of information while he unconsciously adjusted himself. "Why are you wearing that wig?"

"Your sister's coming." She turned and entered the ladies' 'fresher, leaving Luke mystified and unsatisfied. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, he turned to enter the ladies' 'fresher as Leia had done to him earlier, but his sister's voice stopped him.

"Luke! Where have you been? You're going the wrong way!" Luke reluctantly turned around and faced the direction of the party. Unaware of the frustration that her brother was currently feeling, she continued blissfully. "They're about to make the closing statement for the reception, and there's this reporter who wants to take an official holo for the news flimsy tomorrow."

Caught with nowhere to go, he cast a last look at the ladies' 'fresher door, still firmly closed, and followed her out to the party.

-----

Luke was very distracted during the closing remarks, straining his eyes and craning his neck in a vain attempt to locate her brunette wig over everyone else's heads. He posed for news flimsy holos, and was in the middle of explaining what the Jedi Praxeum did to a newly-minted bureaucrat when he saw her leave – with Isaar.

Pausing in mid-sentence, he was about to throw propriety to the wind and call out her name when he heard her admonish him.

_No._

Left staring at her (beautifully bare) back, he was about to mutiny and run after her, when she turned around and fixed a smoky gaze on him.

_No._

And then she left the room. With Isaar.

Luke felt his heart drop to his boots.

"Master Skywalker? Master Skywalker?" He turned towards the Twilek he had been conversing with. "Does the Praxeum separate Force-strong children from their parents without consent?"

Plastering a fake interested look on his face, Luke continued to explain the Praxeum's policies while wrestling with his emotions.

_What was Mara playing at?_ He wondered. _She…we…nearly…_ Luke refused to dwell upon the earlier incident. _Well, Miss Jade, I think you owe me an explanation, and it's a good thing for me that I know where your Coruscant quarters are._ _And I don't care if you're entertaining tonight… because we're going to have a little chat._

"So we've decided that being a Jedi has to be a purely voluntary decision – nobody can and should be forced into becoming a Jedi. One's willingness actually opens up oneself to the Force much better, and if someone does not want to accept that power, who are we to force ourselves upon them?"

"That's very true, Master Skywalker. I've heard tales from the Old Republic, of how the old Jedi Order had its temple right here on Coruscant, and…" Luke fidgeted with his robe as Dilys reminisced to him. It had started to slip backwards as the weight of the cowl pulled the material backwards, and he grasped the lapels to pull it forward. As his grip tightened on the material, he felt something underneath his left lapel. _A small piece of flimsy, perhaps?_ His mind analysed immediately.

"Ready to go?" Leia interrupted his conversation and his thoughts. "Ah, Administrator Dilys, how nice to see you here. Did you enjoy the food?" Not giving time for the Twilek to answer, she continued airily. "It's getting quite late, and I did promise Han that I'd get back before twenty-three hundred hours tonight, so Luke, I'm sorry, but we have to leave."

"Ah…yes." Crushing whatever the material was, Luke casually moved his hands into the pocket of his inner cream robe, and deposited the crushed lump there. "I'm sorry Administrator Dilys, we have to make a move. Feel free to contact the Praxeum if you have any more questions. My pupils, and current administrators of the Jedi Academy, Kam and Tionne, will answer any query you care to pose." Luke offered his hand to Dilys, and they shook.

"It was good speaking with you too, Master Skywalker, and I hope to see you again soon as well. Goodnight." And he left the Skywalker twins with a small bow.

Leia turned to Luke. "Well, princess, I saved you again."

"Now let's get you home."

"Hey, I never said that I wanted to go home now, I just wanted to leave here."

"Well, for once, I didn't lie; Han really wanted me home before twenty-three hundred hours, so let's scoot and get out of here."

"Yes, mom."

"Luke!"

"Yes mom?"

"Stop that this instant."

"Yes mom."

-----

Knowing that he wouldn't get a chance to read the note until he got back to the apartment, and knowing that he'd have a better chance of getting out of the apartment by himself, rather than not following Leia home, Luke wisely kept his mouth shut. The children were staying over at Corran and Mirax's apartment tonight as a treat – but it was highly debatable whether it was a treat for the children or for Han and Leia. Luke figured that it was more the latter, and was not surprised when Leia excused herself with barely concealed impatience once they arrived home, and headed straight for the master bedroom, where Han was presumably waiting for her.

This all worked out well for Luke, since he was dying to see what Mara had planted on him. Once the master bedroom door had closed, he scrabbled about in his pocket for the piece of whatever, and drew it out. It wasn't a piece of flimsy, as he had earlier thought, but a scrap of serving tissue which had been available at the function earlier. He smoothed it out, and read:

**_Why are you not at my place yet?  
_**


	12. Now

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review. Yes, I mean YOU. You. Yes, you.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 12: Now**

As Luke had suspected, getting out of the apartment was no problem at all – he just left. He did write a note that said that he wouldn't be back till late so that Leia wouldn't send out a search party, but he really did seem to be home free with his 'escape'.

He headed for Mara's apartment at a fast pace – trying not to run, really – conveniently located just a few blocks away from Orowood Towers. Putting on a Force disguise and providing an alias for security proved to be no problem, and he found himself at Mara's apartment door, nervous.

_About what?_ He thought. _She's the one who issued the invitation. And who says that we're here to… we need to talk._ He sighed, raked his fingers through his hair, and pressed the door call.

And again.

And again. Incredulously.

She wasn't home yet? Was she still with Isaar? Did she intend for him to make a fool of himself? Was this meant as some twisted object lesson which only made sense in her mind? The more Luke thought, the wilder his conjecture became.

He stopped pressing the door call button, and with his back against her door, he sat down on the floor, slumped. He wanted desperately to check if she was in her apartment, but he was clamped down tight as a space limpet, not wanting to intrude on Leia and Han's private time together. Which was why he was surprised when he heard the lift open and Mara's distinctive footsteps down the corridor.

"Wow. You sure move fast. I would have thought you would have only found that note next millennium, when you washed that suit."

Luke could only stare at her, speechless. She had removed her wig, and her hair was down, unstyled and wild from wherever she had been (not in Isaar's arms, he hoped), and she looked… untamed. Wild.

"Mara…"

She looked down on his figure. "Are you gonna sit there all night?" He held out a hand, as if wanting a lift up. She gave him an exasperated look, but gave him her hand anyway.

"Aren't you a little too old for that...?" And looked only mildly surprised when she found herself being pulled down and sitting sideways on his lap.

"I'd like to finish our discussion now, Jade, if you don't mind." His eyes boring into hers, Luke was intent on winning their impromptu staring match.

Mara smiled, and licked her lips. "Bring it on, Jedi."

-----

Mara Jade. In his lap. Now. Discuss.

Luke's mind almost refused to compute that information, especially when Mara took it to adjust herself in his lap, as if to make herself more comfortable.

_Make herself more comfortable by making me feel… very good?_ He thought.

He cleared his throat.

"As I recall, we left off our previous discussion with me asking the question: why are you wearing that wig?" Hoping that his voice didn't shake too much.

"What wig?" Mara looked innocent as she wiggled around some more, sending Luke's libido into overdrive. _Control, you must learn control,_ Yoda's voice echoed in his mind. _Yes, Master, but I really don't think this was what you had in mind,_ Luke thought wryly at the memory of Dagobah.

Turned out that Mara was wiggling about to get hold of her purse. "Oh, you mean, this wig?" she reached in and pulled out the brunette wig, holding it at arm's length and regarding it. "Don't you like it?"

_I like everything on you. I'd also like everything off you. _The thoughts came unbidden.

"I like it very much, Mara, but I was just wondering why you picked to wear it; especially since you of all people should know that the reporters are still out there looking for this woman whom I'm supposedly having a scandalous affair with."

Mara gave the wig a twirl, and returned it to her purse. "Well, maybe she _wanted_ to be found." And she re-started their staring contest.

Luke swallowed audibly. "Then perhaps, let us return to one of the first questions of the discussion." Mara had started to stroke his cheek, which was incredibly erotic. "Why now?"

Mara's hand stilled, and she sighed, breaking their stare, but still moving sensuously, picking at invisible lint on his new robe. It took all of Luke's willpower not to pull down the front of her tube dress gown, which was hovering very low on her chest, and thus very tantalisingly close to his mouth.

"You see, Skywalker…"

"Luke."

She fixed him with a pointed look. "You see, _Skywalker…_" she leaned in closer to his ear, doing wonderful things to his arousal. "I got jealous." And she pulled back and watched for his reaction.

Luke's eyebrows shot up and disappeared in his bangs. "You got… jealous?" He asked incredulously. "Of whom?"

Mara bent forward toward his ear again. "Of this woman, whom you are apparently dating." She leaned back and looked into his face. "You see, _Luke_, let me put it very simply, so that your brain, currently functioning at two per cent efficiency at the moment, can understand. I. Want. You."

She bent forward again.

"Now."

And claimed his mouth in a mind-blowing kiss.


	13. Are Your Intentions Honourable?

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 13: Are Your Intentions Honourable?**

Luke's mind pretty much shut down during that kiss. It was all about sensation… about her tongue, thrusting into his. Licking, sucking, kissing. Pausing only to take breath, continuing on their oral dance.

Mara's hands twisted about the back of his head, tangling through his hair, pressing his mouth closer to hers. Luke's hands scrabbled for purchase on her dress, now hanging perilously low on her breasts. His hands wrapped around her ribs and caressed her body.

She moaned, and panted into his mouth, pausing her kiss to exhale. He took the opportunity to suck at her lower lip. She caught the hint and dove back into the kissing.

Luke caught both of her hands in his and put them out, away their bodies. This had the effect of pulling their chests together, and Luke could only envy the fabric of his robe.

Blue met green. Both deepening in desire.

"Where were you tonight?" He questioned, holding their gaze.

"Nowhere." She held it, no hesitation in her reply.

"Where's Isaar?" Squashing the queasiness he felt, his heart pleaded with her to tell him the truth.

Green eyes turned up and glinted with amusement.

"At home, with his mommy."

Luke's eyebrow quirked. "I didn't know you liked mama's boys."

"You'd be surprised at what I like." Her voice low with hidden promises.

"You'd be surprised at what I know you like. Are you going to see him again?"

Her head tilted, her eyes still not breaking their gaze. "Is his name Luke Skywalker?"

His eyebrows quirked again. _Stating the obvious, Jade_.

"Then the answer is: No."

"Why'd you bring him to the reception tonight?"

"Because he wanted to meet Karrde."

"Any other reason?"

"No."

"Why didn't you let me leave with you?"

"Because I had to see him home."

"Why?"

"Because, Skywalker!" She broke their stare, and her even tone had disappeared as she got exasperated with his questioning. _Good._ "He's just a child! His mother wanted him home! I did the responsible, _adult_ thing and made sure that he got back in one piece!"

"One last question, and then we can get back to…whatever." She stilled, and waited.

"Do you want me as much as I want you?" Her eyes flared at this question, and she gave him a feral, sinister smile. Leaning forward, she brought their intertwined hands close to their bodies, pushing up her cleavage and giving him a heavenly view.

"Probably more."

Suddenly, in a series of swift movements, Mara kicked off her shoes, stood up, and yanked Luke to his feet. Pushing him against her door and pulling herself against him, she whispered in his ear. "Now, Jedi, are your intentions… honourable?"

Luke swallowed. Trying very hard to match her tone, he looked her in the eye, and said very clearly, "No."

She smiled.

"Good."

And pushed him through her suddenly-open door.

-----

Luke did not get a chance to see much of Mara's apartment once he fell through the doorway. Mara had attached herself to his lips again, and they were strip-walking to where he presumed her bedroom was. She pushed his new Jedi robe to the floor, where it lay crumpled and forgotten. Next to go was his cream tunic, which was discarded in a similar fashion, leaving his chest exposed to her very hungry gaze. Her hands mimicked his movements from earlier, even as her mouth devoured his.

Luke was not idle either. His hands roamed wildly along her body. Caresses called forth sighs from her, and as he moved more, she moaned louder.

"Get… to… the… main… event… Jedi…" Mara managed to string together a coherent sentence at last, communicating her desire to Luke.

He was determined to get to know this woman, now that he had been let in. He'd never dared to dream that Mara and him would ever happen… _but now that it has, Jade, I'm determined to spoil you for any other man._

And so he set out to seduce her.

"The main event will be served soon enough, Jade." He whispered into her ear. "But appetisers whet your anticipation."

Still holding his head in her hand, her eyes gleamed in the moonlight shining through her transparisteel windows. "As you wish." And she ran her fingers down his spine.

Luke's eyes shut and his neck snapped back. His knees buckled, and he sat down abruptly on Mara's carpet. He felt, rather than saw Mara climbing over him, pushing him down flat, and stretching out on top of him. He opened his eyes after that sudden rush of pleasure, and gazed into two heavy-lidded green orbs which were regarding him. She was stretched out on top of him, her tube dress not allowing her legs much movement. Her feet were in the air, swinging back and forth, a gentle movement wreaking havoc on Luke's nether regions. Her fingers were tracing patterns on his chest, occasionally tangling with his chest hair, and tugging gently at them before letting go, and repeating the pattern.

"Are you sure you want this, Skywalker?" She looked him straight in the eye and asked him.

"Isn't that my line?" He cocked his head, and looked right back at her.

Tapping his chest, she sighed, a small exhalation of breath. Lowered her eyes. "You know that we've got a good thing going."

"What, this? Now?"

"No, like… we're friends."

"Aaaand?" Luke waited for her answer.

"If this doesn't work out, don't you think that will be a waste?" She looked back at him.

Luke took a deep breath. "Mara Jade, if you expect me to say anything that will stop what we're doing right now, you're insane."

She chewed on her lower lip. "So, we're both agreed, screw tonight first, no strings attached, talk tomorrow. If it doesn't work out, we're still friends. Right?"

Luke nodded. "Right. Whatever." And he reached behind her back for the fasteners.

"Wait!" Luke stopped cold, and Mara took his face in her hands. With a serious look in her eyes, she asked him again.

"Luke, I need to know that you can do this. I'm really hoping that you can, because I am really hot and bothered right now, but I need to hear it from you."

"Gods, Mara!" Luke couldn't believe his ears. He dry-scrubbed his face with his hands. "Couldn't we have discussed this a little earlier? Before **_I_** got hot and bothered? I can't really think right now, in case you haven't noticed!" Sitting up, he pushed Mara off him and stood up.

"You're my friend, and I love you to bits in that way, but you're also a woman, and gods, that is hard for me to bear. You know what we feel like together, you know we work well together, and _you know that once we start down this path we can't go back._" He was pacing on her carpet, almost yelling at her. "Why are you asking me for something _you know I cannot give you?"_ He stopped, folded his arms, and looked at her, hurt in his eyes.

Mara was still sprawled out on the floor, watching him rant. He felt her probe at his senses, trying to get a feel for his emotions. He shook his head impatiently.

"Han and Leia are at home right now, and I'm giving them some privacy, so you're not getting anywhere inside until after…" he trailed off, looking at his chrono. "One o'clock or so."

He squatted down, and cupped her face in his hand, noting with some satisfaction that her hair was tousled and her mouth was swollen with his kisses. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Mara, dearest, what is going on?"

Her green eyes calm and alert, almost challenging, she mumbled something.

"What?" Luke bent forward to hear her a little better.

"Exit strategy," she breathed.

-----

_A/N: Please note that this chapter has been censored to fit the 'M' rating for posting on f-f dot net. Please also note that I appreciate imaginatively-phrased feedback. :)_


	14. Get To It, Jedi

**Standard Disclaimer:** These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication:** To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (very much so)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After The Corellian Trilogy but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N:** Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 14: Get To It, Jedi  
(aka On The Couch, On The Table)**

Had he heard correctly? Exit strategy? _She wants a one-night stand?_

While he was ruminating, Mara had sat up and stood up – not an easy task, considering the lack of a slit on her tube dress.

"Exit strategy. Never enter into any situation without an exit strategy." Mara was busy straightening her dress and her hair, avoiding looking into Luke's eyes.

Luke stood up as well, reached over, and stilled her hands.

"You can't use that philosophy for us."

"There is no 'US', Skywalker!" Mara was getting agitated.

"Oh really? Then what's with you being jealous of this fictional brunette?" Luke shot back. "You know I don't do one-night stands, and you know my position on casual sex, so why put us in this position?"

Mara was silent, her face troubled.

"Why did you decide to push it tonight, Mara?" he asked, in a gentler tone. "I thought we had an unspoken agreement – why'd you decide to push tonight, dearest?" He slowly walked into her, pulling her towards him, cradling her head against his shoulder.

She leaned in against him, and his arms wrapped around her, her arms trapped against his chest. She was silent for a long while, but Luke waited patiently for her answer, sensing that it was important.

"I… I saw us on the holotube," she said slowly. "I hated that woman. Because she got to be with you. Which is _stupid_, because she's _me_, and I get to be with you whenever I want."

Luke nodded, his chin brushing against her hair. "Anytime."

"But I wasn't going to do… this…" Mara shifted in his arms. "The wig was just for fun; I was planning to do all sorts of inappropriate things and get us into another holonews report… I even told Karrde my plan… then I arrived at the function and you were _thinking_ so loudly." She looked up at him. "About me."

"Oh, Mara." Luke bent down to kiss her, but she turned away and continued speaking.

"And it was all about your stupid machismo, and all about how I was yours, and…" She was playing with his chest hairs again, which was having the effect of turning Luke on. Again.

"So you wanted an experiment." He said flatly. "With us."

Mara looked up at him, eyes heavily-lidded. "I just wanted to try something new. With us. No strings attached."

"Like another aspect of our friendship." She nodded.

"Like trying out a new speeder." She nodded again.

"Like meeting at functions." Another nod from her.

Luke paused, his heart racing and his brain warring with his emotions. Could he do this? With her? He had told her the truth, he didn't like one-night stands, but that wasn't to say that he hadn't done any. It was true that he didn't approve of casual sex, but again, that wasn't to say that he hadn't done it in the past. But that was the problem – it was all in the past, during the years of being hunted by the Empire. Before Thrawn. Before the Academy.

But who was to say that this wasn't different? Why couldn't friends stay friends after sex? And if it didn't work out, would it have been so bad? One less 'what if' in his life – what if they had done the nasty, what if they had tried to make things work, what if – …

He made a swift decision – not that hard really (but getting harder, Luke thought) – give the woman what she wants.

So he bent down and kissed her hard, his hands reaching behind for her dress fasteners. Her hands, trapped between their bodies, could only continue clutching at his chest as her fasteners fell open. Luke pulled the fastener as low as he could get it to go, and moved his hands to her face, slowing their kiss. Mara's hands, now free, were kneading his lower back, and inching slowly lower.

Taking sipping kisses from her mouth, he said, "Let's do this." _You're going to regret that you only wanted a one-night stand, Miss Jade._

She smiled, with a glint in her eye which made Luke slightly nervous. "Then let's play, Jedi." And pushed him backwards onto her couch.

He had expected Mara to climb on top of him again, but instead, she stepped back and reached behind her. He lifted himself on his elbows to watch.

She turned around, with her back facing him, and he saw her fingers working the fastener to the end, finishing his earlier job. She seemed to be having a problem with the last inch or so, and he sat up on the couch to help her. His hands reached for hers, and their fingers met, pulling the fastener down the last inch in unison. He could not help himself; he reached out and fanned his palm across her back, sliding them up towards her shoulder blades, and down again.

Mara was breathing heavily by this time, and although he couldn't sense it, he could guess that she was getting impatient. On an upslide of his hands, he flicked the sides of the dress away from her body, and it peeled away from her, collecting at her hips. Their hands joined again, and with fingers intertwined, they pushed her dress down her hips together.

Mara had to bend forwards to get her dress off, which had the happy effect of thrusting her backside into Luke's direct line of vision. And Luke was very happy with the view. Very, very happy, in fact. Mara took one step forward, in order to step out of the dress, which had pooled at her feet, but stumbled a little. She caught herself, then turned around.

Luke lay back on the couch, and she accepted the invitation and climbed on top of him.

"Are you ready for this, Jade?" Luke rasped against her mouth. "We could stop this right now, and say that it was a moment of madness that made us do this. Do you want this, Jade?"

"Yes… yes… please…" Luke never thought that she would plead for him to pleasure her.

Making a decision to ignore his own need for as long as he could, Luke decided that his earlier course of action was the right one – seduce her. Spoil her for any other man that comes along.

_You want a new aspect to our relationship, Miss Jade? You'll never ask lightly for that again._

And they played.

-----

_A/N: Please note that this chapter has been heavily edited to fit the 'M' rating for posting on f-f dot net. Thank you in advance for the lovely feedback. That little button on the left, y'know:)_


	15. Where Did You Learn That, Miss Jade?

**Standard Disclaimer:** These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication:** To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M (very much so)  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After The Corellian Trilogy but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N:** Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 15: Where Did You Learn That, Miss Jade?  
(aka The 'Fresher, The Bedroom)**

"The couch, the table. Who would have thought you'd be so imaginative?"

"Jade, you wound me. I'm very imaginative."

"I noticed that you got us both very wet."

"But we were safe." She cocked her head at that.

"Did we need to be?" Luke gave her a sheepish look.

"Well, we got quite caught up in everything, and we didn't get a chance to discuss anything, so I thought it would be better to do this first…"

Mara sat up on the table. "To put your mind at ease, we don't need anything. Not on my end, anyway. Unless you have something you want to tell me…?" She slid off the table and stood up.

"Nuh…no, I'm good to go too." Luke managed to stutter.

"You've gotten me all sticky, and you're not in much better state. What do you think we should do about that, Jedi?" Her body still pressed against him, and she expected him to come up with another coherent answer?

"Ref… fresher. Take a bath. Shower." Luke's brain somehow miraculously gave the right answer, and she grinned again.

"Thought you'd never ask. What are you waiting for? 'Fresher's this way." And she led him to the bathroom, wobbly-legged.

-----

"Bedroom… now…"

"You know, Jade… tonight has shown me a new side of you."

-----

"Stars…" she breathed. "Stars…"

"Told you I'd get you later."

-----

"Why, oh why, did you not tell me that you could do amazing things with your tongue?"

Luke, busy with other things, didn't reply.

-----

"Mara…" he pleaded softly. She bent forward again, chin in her hands and looked at him, smiling. "Yes, Jedi?"

Not to be denied again this time, he grasped her hips and growled, "Lower."

-----

"I think I've had more than my fair share tonight, don't you Jedi?" She stopped moving, and looked at him.

_Stars! Where did she learn that from?_

"Mara… Mara… dearest… you have to stop… or I'm going to go off…" She slowed the rhythm, but did not stop.

"Do you want to go off, Skywalker?"

"No… yes…"

"Make up your mind," he thought he heard some amusement in her voice.

He flipped her over onto the bed, and entered her again. "I want to, but it might kill me, so I'm not sure," he said.

"This time, it's your turn, so do whatever you want."

-----

He finally collapsed over her, murmuring sleepily, "Give me ten minutes… I'll be back, I promise."

And he fell asleep.

-----

_A/N: Again, please note that this chapter has been very heavily edited to fit the 'M' rating for posting on f-f dot net. Thank you in advance for the lovely feedback. Please feedback and tell me that you liked this piece! It's the only payback we writers get._


	16. Permission To Finish, Captain

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: MmmmmmMmmmm - the letter "M".  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.  
Calorie computation from http/ www. coolnurse. com/ calories.htm  
Ground-apple from http/ www. theforce. net /swenc/ entrydesc.asp?search7910  
Time computation from http/ www. theforce. net/ swenc/ entrydesc.asp?search23904

**Lightheaded  
C****hapter 16: Permission To Finish, Captain**

Luke awoke in Mara's bedroom alone. Face-down on her mattress, he glanced at his chrono, the only thing he was wearing at the moment. Two-hundred hours. He had no idea how long he was out for, but if Hobbie was right about things, he was in for a world of hurt with Mara for falling asleep on her.

He sat up on the bed and scrubbed his face with his hands, then tousled his hair. Where was Mara? Looking around, he noticed a water puddle outside his room. He went to investigate, and found a path of wet footsteps on the floor from the bathroom leading to the kitchen unit. He followed it, and found Mara bending over the kitchen-counter, eating a ground-apple and writing on a data pad. Naked.

"Interesting to know that the Jedi Master falls asleep after sex like any other human male," she said without looking up.

Luke reddened. "You can't possibly be disappointed," he retorted. Then reddened even more.

Mara's stylo stopped writing, and she looked up, an amused smile on her face. "My, my. I never thought you had it in you, Skywalker."

Eager to change the subject, and thankful that she wasn't mad at him falling asleep, he walked over behind her and asked, "What are you doing?" _It looks like calculations… _

"Calorie count," Mara said, and took another bite of her ground-apple. "Two and a half hours of mind-blowing sex," Luke couldn't help but suppress a huge grin at her words. "And I'm a hundred and twenty-five pounds, which makes it generally 4.3 calories per standard minute. So you have effectively helped me burn 2.5 hours times 60 minutes times 4.3… which is…" her stylo started scribbling the calculations.

"I'm going to grab some water while you do more math," he turned and headed for her refrigeration unit.

"…an amazing 645 calories! Looks like I don't need the gym workout tomorrow." She glanced at her wall chrono. "Or rather, today."

Luke had snagged a bottle of water, and was drinking it when she finished with her calculations. "I'm glad that I was able to help out with that," he said drily.

"I had a quick shower when you were out of it," she said airily. "Help yourself to anything if you need."

There was an awkward silence then. Neither party wanted to say anything about what had just happened between them. _Pink bantha in the room_, Luke thought. One of Aunt Beru's favourite expressions.

"How did you like that new aspect of our relationship, Miss Jade?" Luke finally asked without smiling. "Was it satisfactory?"

She frowned. "Are you angry?"

"Where do we stand now?"

"In my kitchen."

"You know what I mean."

"Gahh!" Mara stood up and threw the core of the ground apple into the recycler. Stalking over to the living room, she folded her arms and glared at him. "You don't pull any punches, do you?"

He followed her, and sat on the couch, one part of his mind taking note of the rather bizarre fact that they were having this conversation completely in the nude.

"Could we just… do this and not talk about it?" She sat down on her caf table, elbows on her knees, legs apart, giving Luke a glimpse of what he had been enjoying an hour before. He forced his mind to stay on topic, and considered her request.

"We could, but that would make things awkward when people start asking questions, wouldn't it?" _Like if I go back right now, and Leia asks me where I've been, for example_.

"Could we try this? Just… this?" Mara asked, a note of pleading in her voice. Just a little. "We'll just have fun together… like what we always do?"

Luke regarded her. Gorgeous, wild hair still piled on the top of her head. Mouth still slightly swollen and bruised from their activities. Could he do this? Could they do this?

_I'm determined to have you, mind, body and soul, Jade. _

"Fun, Jade? Didn't know that you knew that word."

She pouted, and his expression turned serious.

"I'll take you any way I can get, Jade."

She smiled. "We can tell people you're really dating that brunette, you know…" she said slyly.

"And what happens when they take a closer look at your face, green-eyes?"

"Are you doubting my ability to disguise myself again?" Dropping to her knees, she crawled to the couch and stopped in front o fhim.

"I'm not doubting anything at the moment, Jade. Just my ability to think with you in that position."

"Oh really? And why is that?" Reaching out and grabbing him.

"Uh… no reason… really…" Unable to continue, Luke's eyes closed and his head fell back on the couch as he felt her hands on him.

"We can kiss and seal the deal you know," Mara said, moving a little and causing him to groan in pleasure.

"What… deal…?" Luke panted.

"Friends with benefits," she said.

Luke opened his eyes when the words registered. _Friends with benefits._ Was that what they would be? His fingers played idly with her hair as he pondered on this. Mara's voice snapped him to attention again.

"Pay attention, Jedi! It isn't very good for my self-esteem when you wander off when I'm in the middle of something."

"Friends with benefits," he repeated.

"Yes, friends with benefits," she said again.

"Okay." And he bent over to capture her lips again. _But two can play at that game, Miss Jade. Two can play at this game. And since you'll probably underestimate me… I'll win._

They kissed for a long while, and then Mara pushed him back onto the couch.

"I'm not done thanking you for earlier yet, Skywalker," she smiled.

-----

_Where in the galaxy did you learn to do that, Miss Jade?_ The thought came again and again to his mind that night. He knew that Mara was sexually active, but the number of ways in which she had pleasured him that night had been astounding to know. _Just another one of those things which I'm going to have to beat out of you, I suppose._

-----

He grit his teeth and grabbed the cushions on her couch instead. _Get to it, Jade_.

"Have I thanked you enough yet?" She asked, a glint in her eye.

Luke panted, "You're a … very cruel… woman, Jade."

She smiled. "I know." She bent over and his eyes snapped shut.

-----

_Why, Miss Jade, I never thought you had it in you._

"I think I've had more than my fair share," he told her, bringing his knees together and sitting her straddled on his lap.

"Why don't you show me what you want to do?"

Their breathing grew hard again.

-----

"You're gorgeous, and you're mine," he murmured.

She smiled. "That remains to be seen, Jedi." His mouth twisted in a sardonic grin – _joking even now, Jade?_

-----

"Luuuke…" she felt her climax approaching. "Luuuke…"

His only response was to rub hard. And fast.

She came. But as soon as she looked like she was calming down, he started rubbing harder and faster again, and her eyes snapped open and looked at him with something akin to horror.

"Luke…?" And closed her eyes as she came again.

"I think you've got one more in you, so let's try for that, shall we?" Luke said conversationally, and started stroking her again.

"Noo…" Mara whimpered.

"What's that, Jade?"

"Yesss…"

"Make up your mind, Jade," he said, as he continued pleasuring her, ignoring his own painful need.

Jade's only response was to moan languidly.

-----

He breathed hard into her mouth.

"Permission… to… finish… Captain…" She snorted gently at this.

"As if you need to ask."

-----

Finally, she stopped moving, and lay down upon him. Kissed his chin.

"Goodnight, Jedi."

"Goodnight, Jade." Fighting against his body's natural reaction, he kissed her hair and surrendered to sleep, hoping that neither one of them would regret their actions in the morning.

-----

_A/N: Again, this has been sliced and diced for your party-pooper pleasure to comply with f-f dot net's rating system. Privileged people get to read the complete version. You know who you are ;-)_


	17. You Added The Strings

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review. FINALLY! Back to the non-edited version.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 17: You Added The Strings**

Luke awoke sometime in the early hours of the morning, unused to the sensation of sleeping on the floor. The carpet, while soft, still left him feeling sore. Mara was sprawled out beside him, her hair still tied, but in a messy spray across her face. Sleeping on her hand, she had one leg hooked over his, and one of her hands was on his chest. He had slipped of her sometime during the night, and now he sat up, and gently extricated himself from her embrace.

_You're beautiful, and you're mine, even though you think you're free._ He sat there for a few moments, just watching her sleep. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

_We're good together, can't you tell?_ He picked her up slowly, and moved her to the bedroom. She stirred, and half-awoke.

"Luke?" she murmured in askance.

"Shh… just moving to the bedroom." He placed her gently on the bed and pulled up the covers.

"Okay." She turned over and went back to sleep. He smiled on her sleeping form, and removed her hair fastener slowly, careful not to wake her again. Softly caressing her hair, he was fighting his feelings from spilling out and being broadcast.

_We're good together, Jade. Don't fight it. Don't fight this._ Giving her hair one last touch, he stood up and stretched. _Stars! I haven't had that much exercise since… well, since that last training session on Yavin._ He smiled. If the Praxeum came up with such innovative exercises, he was sure he would hear less complaints from the younger initiates. _Probably get requests for more such exercise._ He chuckled silently as he walked to the 'fresher.

After relieving himself, he walked to the sink to wash his hands, and saw Mara's thong around one of the water spigots, discarded so carelessly earlier. He picked it up, put it to the side, and washed his hands. Deciding to keep it as a souvenir of their first time together, he walked out to the living room and shoved the little piece of underwear into one of the inner pockets of his Jedi robe, discarded near the entrance door. He lay it over the couch, and shook out his cream tunic and pants as well, strewn in various places around the living room.

And then he stood there, wondering what to do.

Looking at the chrono, he realised that it was close to sunrise. _Guess I'll be using the 'fresher first then._ Picking up his soiled briefs, he walked to the 'fresher and closed the door. He rinsed it out and left it on one of the pegs. _Probably have to go commando today_, he thought as he opened a cupboard, looking for a towel. Finding one, he placed it on top of the closed toilet, and turned on the water.

Showering quickly, he was wondering what to say to Mara when she woke. _Mara, we have to talk. No, too clichéd. Mara, we had sex last night. No, too obvious. Mara, we belong together. No, she'd probably burst out laughing in my face. Or slap me. Or worse._ Luke was at a loss, soaping his hair and scrubbing his head, willing himself to think harder.

_Or_, he sighed as he rinsed the soap out of his hair, _I could just leave_. Wasn't that what she wanted? 'Friends with benefits', she had said. _We'll see how she takes me leaving._ Then he abandoned that line of thought. _Looks like I'm not doing too well with this great idea of having great sex with a good friend,_ Luke thought ruefully. Finished with his quick shower, he shut off the water and started towelling his hair.

He wrapped the towel around his hips and contemplated his reflection. Absently noting his five o-clock shadow, he wondered if Mara kept shavers on hand for gentlemen callers. _Probably not._ Or was he being too optimistic? Save for the towel cabinet, the bathroom had no other shelves or cubby-holes to keep such amenities. Her tooth-cleaner was neatly stored in a cup at the side of the sink, and her face cleansers stood beside the cup.

_Think, Jedi, think._

Luke smiled as he got an idea. _I'll make her breakfast._

Walking away to pull on his pants, he couldn't help thinking that he was just delaying the inevitable showdown.

-----

Mara awoke a few hours later to the smell of fried eggs and nerf slices. He'd been keeping a Force tendril open for her, and felt her sense change when she started to wake up. He started frying the eggs and slices then. Sending her an invitation to join him at the table, she walked out of the bedroom in a loose robe and into the 'fresher, ignoring him for the moment as she completed her morning cleansing rituals. Emerging a few minutes later, she sat at the counter, where Luke had placed two plates.

She looked at him. "When I said 'friends with benefits', I never though there'd be so many benefits," she commented blandly.

He turned back to the frying pan. "Almost done. Get your plate ready." She lifted her plate and he slid half of the eggs and nerf slices onto her plate. She picked up the other plate and he dumped the rest onto it, replacing the hot pan onto the cooking unit.

He turned around to see Mara transferring half of her eggs and slices onto his plate. "Too much, I don't eat that much in the morning," she muttered under her breath, almost to herself. He smiled. _Something to file away for future reference._

He poured her caf, strong and black, just as she liked it, and another for himself. "When do you need to get to the office?" he asked in between bites.

She glanced at the chrono as she chewed. "Oh, about eight hundred hours, I suppose. Karrde doesn't really make us punch in; so long that we get our job done right." She avoided looking at his face. He swallowed his bite of egg, and chewed on a bit of nerf slice.

"I'm leaving for Yavin tomorrow evening," he said abruptly. She looked up at him finally. "Oh." A wary look in her eyes.

"Just thought you'd like to know."

"Thanks for the info." She dropped his gaze and continued eating.

"Where will you be?" _If you're going to play it that way, then I'm just going to push, Jade._

"Oh, here and there." She played with her food as she chewed. _Another thing to note._

"Will you let me know?" _Before I start stalking you?_

She sighed. "I'll leave you a message on Yavin, alright?" Swallowing the last of her food, she got off her chair and started washing her plate. Leaving it to drain on the rack, she paused at the sink. Luke regarded her figure, and seeing her hands clenching at the edges of the sink, swallowed his food and prepared for… anything.

Her shoulder muscles bunched, and her hands grasped the edges of the sink, fisting and relaxing. Luke wondered what was going on in her mind. He was about to reach out to her with the Force when she turned around.

"I don't think you can do this."

"Do what?" Luke asked.

"Sex without strings."

He raised his eyebrows at that. "You'd be surprised at what I can do." He smirked a little. "In fact, I'm quite sure you were pretty surprised last night."

She coloured, but did not detract from the subject. "Any other man would have left last night. That's what sex without strings is. Instead, you're here, cooking me breakfast. That's sex with strings."

He answered carefully. "No, Mara. This is me, without sex and without strings. You said 'friends with benefits'. If I weren't your friend, I'd leave. But I'm your friend first. You're the one intent on adding the strings. I just made you breakfast. As your friend. As if we'd not had sex last night. You added the strings."

"I didn't add any strings!" Her mouth fell open in surprise.

"You added strings the moment you woke up and wanted me gone," he said mildly. "Your condition was that there would be no expectations after sex. _I'm,_" he emphasized with a shrug of his shoulders, "not expecting anything at the moment, apart from you being your regular self. _You_, on the other hand, expected me to become a totally different person from who I really am, and just leave you, a lady whom I have just passed a delightful night with, alone in the morning." He picked up his empty plate and walked towards the sink. "So tell me, Jade, who really added the strings here?" Walking right into her, and placing his plate in the sink, he trapped her between his body and the washing unit.

"So technically," his voice low and mouth close to her left ear. "You've already violated our agreement from last night." He gave her earlobe a lick, and felt her shudder. "So technically, I don't have to stand by the agreement." They were both starting to breathe a little deeper at the close contact.

With effort, he pulled away abruptly. "However," he started again conversationally. "Just to show that I'm a good sport, I'll ignore this first lapse. But," he kissed her swiftly when she started to interrupt him. "_But_… we're not doing anything again until you agree that we're going to try for a proper relationship."

Her eyes narrowed. "Can I speak now?"

Amused, he nodded his head slightly, still not releasing her from the makeshift prison of his body and the sink. She leaned forward into his body, and he stopped smiling. She was, which put him on the alert immediately.

"And what makes you think," she whispered hotly in his ear, "that you can stand not doing anything?" And licked at his earlobe.

Luke swallowed and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Because you're worth waiting for, Jade."

Her eyes flashed in annoyance. "What happened to 'I'll take you any way I can get, Jade'?" she pushed him away. "All I wanted was to relieve some of this…" she gestured between them. "Tension that always hanging between us."

He leaned against the sink and folded his arms against his bare chest. "That went out the window the moment you forsook our original agreement, which I should never had agreed to. I'm offering a counterproposal, one with higher stakes – but a higher payoff as well." His eyes gleamed. "The next time, Jade… the next time there's no going back. You know I play for keeps."

She pondered upon this for a moment, a thought wrinkle marring her perfect forehead. It cleared suddenly, and she smiled, a feral smile, and suddenly, Luke wasn't so certain of his impulsive brainstorm.

"I accept your offer, but also demand a penalty for my side." Wary of her, and very aware that she was a master negotiator at trade talks (why else would she be in Karrde's employ?), he nodded.

"If you come to me first… then we'll play by my rules instead. Sex without strings." She waved her hand in the air in front of her face. "Oh sure, you can stay the night, make me breakfast, paint my toenails, whatever, but that will be the underlying arrangement between our… nightly activities. Sex without strings."

Luke's eyes darted around her kitchen unit. _If I win, I get her. If she wins, I get her – but not all of her. Decisions, decisions._

"Done."

"Done."

Luke had a feeling that it was going to be a short, but intense competition.


	18. Bring It On

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 18: Bring It On**

They finished breakfast quickly, and Luke finished dressing as Mara showered. Deciding not to leave until she did, he used her comm. unit, logged on to his account and called Yavin.

"Kam, are you there?"

"Master Skywalker, is that you?" The picture reception was bad, and Luke decided to switch to straight voice transmission.

"Yes, Kam. Can you read me a little better now? I've switched to pure voice."

"Much better now." The static crackle had eased into a light buzz in the background. "Probably the solar winds that's been giving us problems recently. What may I do for you, Luke?"

He smiled. Kam. Ever helpful. "I called to inform you that I'll be on Coruscant a while longer. I have things here to attend to."

Kam paused before he replied. "Is it urgent?" he asked, a cautious note in his voice.

Luke frowned, and got the feeling that he was forgetting something very important. "It's not particularly urgent, but I'd like to take care of it before I leave. Did something happen?"

Kam hesitated a little before answering. "No, but the new initiates will be here in five days, and you always meet the new students when they arrive."

"Oh, you're right." Luke paused and thought hard. He had forgotten about the new initiates. Even if he left as planned the next evening, the journey to Yavin would still take three days, and that would give him barely enough time to reach Yavin before they arrived. He pursed him lips. _Looks like I'll have to leave as planned, or even earlier._

"You're right, Kam. I'll be back as planned."

"Alright, Luke. Is everything fine? You could stay on Coruscant, and we could tell the initiates that you were busy with something…" Luke smiled at the doubt in Kam's voice.

_Yes, you could tell them that, but then what would I tell the initiates once I arrived? 'I'm sorry everyone, but I had to beat Mara Jade into submission first, and you know how much time that takes.'_ He grinned ruefully at the thought, and scratched his chin.

"No, that's alright, Kam, I'll arrive back as scheduled. Any news?"

"No, everything's quiet here. The monsoon rains have just started, so we're in the midst of switching to the indoor exercise schedule."

_I've been getting some indoor exercise on my own._ "Alright then, see you in a few days. Skywalker out."

Closing the connection, he soaked in the silence of the apartment, taking his first real look at its interior.

_Stark._ The apartment was functional – one bedroom, one 'fresher, kitchen unit, living room, and not much in the way of furniture. He'd already become intimately acquainted with the couch and the carpet, but also noted the caf table that Mara had been sitting on the night before. _Tasteful._

Then his brain caught up to him as he registered the silence. _She must have finished with her shower while I was talking with Kam._ He turned around, and caught her coming out from her bedroom, dressed.

Or partly dressed. She had left all her buttons undone on her regular black, no-nonsense jumpsuit, leaving her body open to his gaze, the front of her jumpsuit gaping all the way down to her navel. She was walking towards him, her face turned away from him as she was braiding her hair.

"Why don't you button me up, Luuuke?" She said in a low voice. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

_A challenge, Jade?_ Luke walked towards her and started buttoning her up slowly. But not without teasing touches to her belly and her navel as he followed the button trail up her chest.

Not to be outdone, Mara walked him backwards into the back of the couch. He leaned against it and continued his job, thumbing the bottom of her breasts gently. She leaned in between his open legs, right onto certain excited parts, and started moving. Slow, circular movements which made Luke go cross-eyed for a few seconds.

"You could be arrested for indecent exposure today, Luuuke. I saw your pretty briefs in my 'fresher, and they don't seem to be dry yet." Finished with her hair, she flipped the end up and looped it from the top of her head, securing it with some unfathomable hair device that Luke could never figure out. Placing her hands on the sofa beside his hips, she continued the maddeningly slow movements.

"Thank goodness that I have an equally pretty Jedi robe to cover myself with, hmm?" Hoping that his voice didn't shake, he finished buttoning her up. "You, on the other hand, don't. Who's going to be the one arrested for indecent exposure now, Miss Jade?" He brushed his hands lightly against her hard points, clearly seen through the well-worn fabric.

She had stopped moving and closed her eyes when he started playing with her, but at that, her eyes snapped open and glared at him.

"I've got to get to work." And stepped away from him, leaving his pants badly tented, having no briefs to temper the angle of his excitement.

Watching as Mara pulled on a loose tunic and grabbed a couple of data pads from the table (fantastic, wonderfully stable table), Luke reached for his robe and put it on. Not a moment too soon either, because Mara thrust his boots in his arms, grabbed his arm and pulled him out of her apartment.

Hopping a little, he pulled on his boots quickly as she secured her apartment.

"'Bye Skywalker," she said irritably, and turned to leave.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her forcefully against his body. _Not so fast, Jade._

"But I haven't had my morning kiss yet," he said, and bent to kiss her.

She bent away from him, and kept her mouth resolutely shut even as his tongue asked entrance against her lips.

_Too public, perhaps? Let's try a change in venue._ Keeping one eye out for obstacles, he half-dragged Mara's limp body towards the elevator, and called for it. _I'm guessing that you're not as unaffected as you seem, Miss Jade. Or why are you suddenly so boneless?_ He could feel her hard again underneath her layers of clothing.

The lift arrived, and Luke pulled away from Mara. Seeing her sway a little made him smile. They stepped into the lift. As soon as the lift door closed, Mara grabbed his robe by the lapels and pushed him hard, causing him to slam into one of the lift walls.

_Ow._ Luke winced at the bump that was going to develop at the back of his head.

"You want to go down this route, Jedi?" She growled.

"What route, Miss Jade?" Playing innocent.

"You'll lose."

"That remains to be seen."

"Oh, I can see it alright." A hand reached between the folds of his robe and squeezed him, causing him to stand at complete attention again. _Control, Jedi, learn control. The stakes are high._

He pushed her away. "Why not a relationship? We're already halfway there."

Her eyes glittered as she pushed him against the wall again. "I don't want any attachments, that's why. Just sex. And I'm determined to have plenty of it with you."

"I'm just as determined to have all of you, Jade."

"And that's the way you want to play it."

"Yes."

"Fine." She stepped away from him. "Tonight. At my place. Bring dinner. Then we'll see who wins."

He smiled.

"Bring it on."

The lift opened, and they went their separate ways.

-----

_A/N: Once again, this has undergone some surgery - but don't worry, not as bad as the other chapters. It's mostly complete. Now press that button and write a love note to me, please._


	19. People Who Assume

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 19: (You Know What They Say About) People Who Assume**

"Leia? Han?" Luke called as he entered the apartment.

"Han's not here, he and Chewy went off early somewhere." Leia poked her head from her kitchen unit. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yes, I had some already." He walked to the kitchen unit anyway, and sat down at the counter. Leia was slicing a sandwich into two. She finished slicing it, dusted off her hands, and opened the refrigeration unit, pulling out a clear jug of cold chocolate. She poured one for herself, and another for Luke, and gave him a kiss on his cheek as she passed it to him.

"Good morning. Where were you last night?" She went back to her sandwich and started clearing up the utensils.

"I was at Mara's. I spent the night there, actually."

Leia's mouth quirked upward and she flicked an amused glance at him. "Are you sure you want to be telling me this?"

Luke shrugged. "We talked." _A little._ "I was tired, so I slept there." _A little._ "We ate together." _A lot._

"Oh." Leia seemed to consider this, and took a bite out of her sandwich. "When are you leaving?"

"Kicking me out so soon, dearest sister?"

She frowned in mock anger, a smile on her lips. "Luke! You know that's not what I mean."

He laughed. "Tomorrow, late evening, I think. I've got to get back because the new recruits are coming in soon."

She nodded. "And you have to be there to welcome them. Yes. It's always a good show of strength for the Jedi Order when you greet the new initiates personally, Luke."

He smiled at her didactic tone. "Yes, mom, which is why I'll be out of your hair tomorrow."

Ignoring the jibe, she suddenly scrutinised him. Or more specifically, his clothes. "Why are you still wearing that robe? It's warm in here. You should have hung it up at the entrance. Come on, take it off and I'll do it." Leia bit off another piece of her sandwich and moved as if to pull the cloak off him.

Finishing his cold chocolate hurriedly, he hoped he sounded casual. "No, I think I spilled something on it yesterday at the reception, and I think I'll get it cleaned." He stood up and handed her his cup. "I think I'll go take a shower now." _And put on some underclothes._ Beating a hasty retreat to his temporary quarters, he hoped that he didn't seem too eager to leave.

-----

After a shower (and a new set of underpants), Luke felt the effects of the lack of sleep, and took a nap on the bed. He vaguely registered someone coming into his room, but his Force senses registered it as Leia and he sleepily told her to wake him up after an hour.

He woke up when he felt Leia calling him in his mind. _Luke? Time to get up. I need you to do something for me._ Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he walked into the living room, and found Leia meditating cross-legged on the floor. Smiling a little, and sending her his approval in the Force, he returned to the 'fresher and washed his face.

Leia appeared by the 'fresher door.

"Could you come with me to the finalisation of the Trade Agreement talks? Han's out, and I just want another pair of eyes and ears around, just in case."

He considered her request while cleaning his teeth. _Why not? It's not like I have anything to do… until dinner._ He nodded.

"Okay, good." She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out the new Jedi robes and tunic. _Droid must have hung them up while I was sleeping,_ Luke thought.

"Wear this; I can't be seen with a scruffy-looking escort, can I?"

He spat into the sink. "Who's scruffy-looking?"

-----

In the end, Luke was glad that he wore the robe. Leia had omitted to tell him that the finalisation of the Trade Agreement talks was also the official signing of the agreement, which was a formal event.

They were seated around a longish table, with NR delegates on one side, and Xobni officials on the other. A few seats were empty, and Luke wondered at this lapse in protocol. _Could there be something wrong?_ From experience, he knew that small mistakes were often the first sign of trouble.

Ignoring the start of the ceremony, which had the Xobni official sitting at the head of the table making some remarks, Luke stretched out with his Force senses, trying to ascertain if there really was trouble ahead. He couldn't find anything, but he sensed…

_Mara!_ He stopped his Force probe with a sudden jolt. What was she doing here?

"… and we wish to officially apologise to the New Republic for delaying the agreement talks, due to some doubts on the Xobni delegation's side. In the interests of full disclosure, and as a show of good faith, we lay it before this council that we had hired an independent intelligence group to establish the truth of certain facts." The Xobni official paused for the next page on the data pad. "The independent intelligence group hired was headed by Mister Talon Karrde, and his associate, Miss Mara Jade."

_Mara!_

"With permission," the official continued, unaware of Luke's turmoil. "We would like to introduce them to the council, and have them witness the signing of the Trade Agreement, for they have contributed much to the process."

"Permission granted," the NR delegate at the front of the table said. He looked like he had been expecting this, and did not look up when the door to the room opened, and Karrde and Mara walked in.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Leia hissed and pulled him down by the sleeve. Luke had unconsciously half-risen in his seat when Mara walked in.

"Oh, er, nothing. I thought it was protocol." _Nice save, Jedi._ He caught Mara giving him a glance as she sat down opposite Leia. _Well, well._ He couldn't keep a smug look off his face, but dropped it when he realised that Karrde was looking at him strangely.

He sat back in his seat and stifled a sigh as he heard the Xobni official announce that they would now read through the entire Trade Agreement. _Well, at least I have the object of my daydreams sitting right in front of me._

He felt Mara's Force sense reach out for him. Glancing over at her, he noted that she was still facing the Xobni official who was reading out the Trade Agreement.

Keeping his senses shielded from anyone but her, he reached out to her as well, sending out questions which he hoped she could understand. Force conversations were fuzzy-logic in nature, and it wasn't anywhere near the telepathic comlink communication that everyone thought it was.

_Mara?_

_Jedi._

_Well, this works._

_I've been practising. You shielding?_

_My sister's beside me. You think?_

_You know what they say about people who assume._

While conducting the conversation, Luke was amazed at the clarity of their mental conversation. Even his conversations with Leia weren't as clear; they transmitted more with feelings than with words, except for when they extremely dire straits. _Desperation must play some part in clarity,_ he thought.

_No, I don't, Miss Jade. What DO they say?_

_They make an ass out of you and me._

_Judging from what I saw of your ass last night, I'm quite content with that pronouncement._ And smiled to see her flush a little.

He flashed her a scene from his memory of their night together, of her spread-eagled on the bed and screaming as he pleasured her, and was gratified to see her flush deepen.

She shut off the contact between them and turned to glare at his smug expression. _Bet you didn't think that the boring old Jedi Master had it in him, did you, Jade?_

The door opened silently, and Winter entered the room. Walking to Luke's side, she crouched down and spoke in a low voice. "Master Luke, there's a transmission marked for you from the Jedi Academy that arrived at the apartment. I've relayed the message to your comm. account, but Kam called in as well to see if you had received the message, so I think it's rather urgent."

"Thank you, Winter. I'll get to it right now. Could you take my place in here and explain the situation to Leia?"

"Of course." She took his place as he left the room.

-----

What on earth could Kam want? Luke wondered as he hurried to a comm. station. Punching in his access codes, he called up the text transmission from Kam.

_**Master Skywalker: Initiates will be here sooner than expected – ETA in three days, to be exact. We are unsure why they are arriving earlier. Kam.**_

He frowned. It wasn't like Kam and Tionne to make mistakes with the scheduling. Calling for a direct link to the Praxeum, he wasn't surprised to get an instant connection to Kam.

"Master Luke! Did you get my message?"

"Yes, I did. What happened? I thought I had five more days to get back to the Academy."

Kam nodded. "That's what our scheduling says as well. I managed to contact someone from the last world that they were from, and apparently there's a mechanical expert among our initiates. Apparently, he managed to boost their craft's speeds 110 per cent."

Luke's eyebrows raised at that. "That's quite impressive. But that still shouldn't have shaved off two days from their journey without endangering their lives."

Kam shook his head. "No, they picked up this initiate, Lucieno, early on in the recruitment process. He boosted them early in their journey, and they picked up two days along the way."

"And not during this last leg of the journey. Ah, yes." He scratched his chin, noting that he had forgotten to shave in all the rush. _Wonder why Leia let me be, _he wondered at his normally fastidious sister's lapse.

_Maybe because it looks very sexy,_ he heard in his mind. _Mara._

Making a swift decision, he moved to finish his conversation with Kam. "I'll leave immediately, and hopefully be back to catch them when they come. I'll contact you once I come out of hyperspace."

Kam nodded again. "Academy out."

As the comm. unit winked out to black, Luke turned around. Mara was leaning against the wall, arms folded.

"Are you breaking our date tonight?"

He eyed her stance. "Regretfully, yes. I need to get back to the Academy." He smiled, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Miss me?"

She clicked her tongue and pretended to look thoughtful. "Maybe. Probably not." She stretched languidly, her tunic pulling up a little. "I don't need anything from you, Jedi. I can take care of things myself."

Luke licked his lips. "I need everything from you, Jade. I'll miss you… perhaps even more than you'll miss me."

"Perhaps… perhaps." She walked into him and gave him a hug. "Clear skies, Luke." Avoiding looking at his eyes, she walked back into the conference room, leaving Luke staring, a little confused, at the closing door.

-----

_A/N: Yay! No edits this time round. And if you spell Xobni backwards, you'll find one that's quite empty and lonely, and needs your action for company. _


	20. A Few Good Robes

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 20: A Few Good Robes**

Luke headed back to the apartment to pack up. He tossed the little that he brought with him into his carryall – comlink, his holostill portable collection, lightsaber, his credit pouch, and two changes of clothing. He shrugged off the robe and dug around in the pockets for Mara's thong, and was dismayed not to find it.

_Kriff, must have fallen somewhere while I was showering. _He got on his hands and knees and crawled all around his room and 'fresher, checking under the bed and cabinets, but he couldn't find it. He walked out into the living room, retracing his steps that morning, looking everywhere, but he couldn't find it.

_I don't have time for this._ Having already called a flight plan with the NR spaceport along the way back, he was scheduled to leave at sixteen-hundred hours. _It must have either fallen out in her apartment, or along the way, either which would be safe. Argh, I've got to remember to com Artoo to get to the spaceport._

His comlink chirped. "Yes?" His tone slightly frazzled.

"Luke, you still here?" Leia.

"Yes, I am. Wheels up at sixteen-hundred hours."

"Okay, good. Look, I'm not going to be able to see you off, is that alright?"

He smiled at her words, while still scanning the room for Mara's thong. "Of course it is. I know you're busy. Is that official still reading out the agreement?"

Luke could only imagine the face that Leia must be making at that. "No, thank the Maker, we're through with that part of the ceremony. But I will have to stay here the rest of the time until the agreement is signed, which will take about…" Luke heard her sigh. "Until the sun goes down and the moons go up and when everyone's asleep."

"I don't envy you."

"I don't envy me either. I love you Luke."

"I love you too."

"Oh, wait! Almost forgot the reason why I called. Take that set of Jedi robes back to Yavin IV with you, alright? Ask the rest how they feel about having proper dress uniforms for formal occasions. If they like it we can work out something proper, sort of like formal Jedi Order wear."

"Alright," he said, already balling the fine cloth and shoving it into his carryall. "Say goodbye to Han and the kids for me, will you?"

"Oh, I think they should be back before you leave. Don't leave without saying goodbye to them, will you? If they're really late, speak through the Force, please? You should have seen their sad little faces when you left without saying goodbye the last time. I thought that the end of the world had come!" Her merry laughter came over the comlink.

"Alright, but I'm going to leave really soon; it's already thirteen, and I have to get to the spaceport and do pre-flight checks and all."

"They'll make it. Han and Chewy are picking them up from Mirax now."

"I love you, dear sister."

"I love you too. Clear skies, Luke." The comlink clicked off.

-----

The children, Han and Chewy came back fifteen minutes after Leia signed off. Luke managed to take another quick shower and change into his flightsuit, and was in the middle of refolding his clothes so as to be able to close his carryall bag when he felt a tornado of senses through the Force. He grinned. Only one thing could cause such a ruckus in the Force. Or rather, three things. He gave up folding the bulky clothes and shoved them into the carryall, forcing the fasteners to close. And not a moment too soon, as the door burst open, and three children came running in.

Jaina reached him first this time, hugging him around his waist, almost toppling him onto his bed.

"You're leaving!" she whined. "You just came!"

Anakin attached himself to his left leg. "You just came!" he joined in her whining.

"I have to go, I'm sorry, everyone."

Jacen walked into his room with Han's arm slung over his shoulder. "Leaving so soon, kid? _Usurped_ enough of my children's affection this time around already?"

Slightly alarmed at the emphasis on the word, Luke looked up from hugging Jaina and Anakin and looked at Han, who, strangely enough, was looking at Jacen. Jacen was also looking at Han with a grin on his face.

"I don't _usurp_ their affection, Han," he said slowly.

"Huh? Oh," Han looked up from Jacen's face. "Sorry about that. We just learnt a new word today, and Jacen asked me to make a sentence with it just now, and I couldn't. Well," he shrugged. "Not until I saw you, anyway. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Uncle Luke, do you have to go now?" Luke felt that Jacen was struggling with his emotions, the child in him warring with the young man just dying to emerge. He made it easier for him by opening up his arms, and Jacen walked into them as Jaina moved aside.

"I'm sorry, Jacen, I have to welcome the new initiates into the Jedi Academy," he said softly. "I always welcome them in person when they first arrive, and make sure that they know that it's a safe place that they've arrived at." He prised the boy gently away from him, and gathered the children in front of him. "One day, I'll be there to welcome you, as well." He looked into each of their faces. Deciding to lighten the mood a little, he made an exaggerated sad face.

"You will come to my Jedi Academy right? I mean, I know you're all such great knights already, but you'll come to my school right?" He received three smiles for his trouble, hugs and affirmations that yes, they would definitely be going to the Jedi Academy, how could he doubt such a thing, could Dad come along too, how about Winter and Threepio?

He finally managed to extract himself from their embraces, and turned to Han. "I've got to get to the spaceport for pre-flight checks and all, so I'm really going to have to leave now." They embraced, slapping each other on the back. "Where's Chewy?"

"He said he wanted to check on something or other." Han shrugged. "I'll tell him you said goodbye."

Luke nodded. "I've got to go now. I'll see you soon." Turning to the children, he stood at attention and gave them a salute. In a mock solemn voice, he said, "Young Jedis, I bid you farewell, aaand…"

"May the Force be with you!" Three voices shouted in unison, their pleasure at their usual goodbye ritual radiating through their Force senses, making him smile proudly.

He grabbed his carryall, and bent down to give each of the children a kiss on the forehead and a ruffle of their hair. "Goodbye little Jedi. I'll see you soon."

"Clear skies, kid."

And then he left, spaceport-bound, belatedly remembering to com Artoo that he was leaving.

-----

He arrived at the spaceport a little over an hour later, leaving him just slightly under two hours to complete his pre-flight tests. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that most of the routine checks on his X-Wing had already been done – by Artoo, who had apparently spent his morning at the spaceport.

"Why were you here?" he asked the little droid.

/You were supposed to leave two days ago./ Artoo replied.

"Do I detect a note of disapproval, my dear Artoo?"

/You know as well as I do that droids don't have that capacity, Master Luke./

Luke laughed to himself, and rolled his eyes. _You may not have that capacity officially, Artoo, but you certainly have developed an algorithm which mimics it perfectly._

"Any cancelled slots that we can usurp, Artoo?" Trying out Jacen's new word.

/None, Master Luke. We leave as scheduled, in one hour and seven minutes' time./

"Right." Wondering what he should do in the meantime, now that everything was properly stowed, locked down, and loaded. Artoo gave another titter of sound, and he turned back to the data screen.

/Might I suggest that you refuel? It will take three days to arrive at our destination, and my memory banks note that while standard issue ration bars sustain the organic body, they do not please the palate./

"Good suggestion, Artoo. I'll be back." He Force hopped out of the X-Wing onto its small mounting ladder, and locked it down. Walking toward the pilot cantina, he hoped to see Wedge or some of the other Rogues were around.

Unfortunately, the cantina was devoid of anyone he knew – in fact, it was devoid of almost anyone. _Probably because it's nowhere near a proper mealtime,_ Luke thought to himself as he dialled a dispenser for a light meal. Finishing his meal quickly, he disposed of his utensils in the recycler, and walked out towards the ship hangar again, taking a more direct path to his X-Wing by walking through the other parked transports.

_Ooh. Must be fate. Or providence. Or the New Republic Spaceport administrators._ Luke's footsteps slowed, as the _Jade's Fire_ came into view. He slowly circled Mara's craft, noting the silent way that her close-range blasters followed his movements. _Fantastic anti-theft system you have, Mara._

Giving up the half-formed notion that he would get in and leave a note for her, he turned to leave. Then smiled, as he had a brainstorm. Hurrying back to his X-Wing, he spoke briefly with Artoo, who ejected something from one of his storage compartments. Luke caught it, and hurried back to the _Jade's Fire_.

Taking a deep breath, and a look at the hangar chrono, he realised that he hadn't much time. _Gotta make this quick, which means it'll look sloppy._ Deciding that it couldn't be helped, Luke concentrated and gripped the stylo marker with the Force.

Staying well out of range of the craft's sensors, he moved the stylo marker towards Mara's ship. He managed to only drop it twice before it reached the ship, and once it was there, Luke wasted no time in completing his impromptu mission.

Perspiring from the effort, he finished, and stepped back to admire his handiwork, then glanced at the chrono. _Kriff! Got to move!_ Running towards his X-Wing, which had its engines running thanks to Artoo, he threw the stylo in the cockpit, jammed on his helmet and taxied to his designated runway, Artoo twittering a scolding all the way.

Luke ignored the datascreen with Artoo's scoldings as he exited the hangar. He couldn't help one last glance at his handiwork, though. Emblazoned across the _Jade's Fire_'s transparisteel viewer were the words: "Miss me yet?"

_Written backwards too, just for you, Jade,_ he thought, as he took off. _Don't be too mad… the ink's water-soluble._

Grinning, he pulled back the throttle and exited Coruscant atmosphere.

-----

Later on that night, back in the room which Luke had just vacated, Leia picked up a bundle of clothes which she had thrown into the room's hamper.

_Good thing I had a couple of those robes made,_ she thought as she switched off the light.


	21. Death Mark On An X Wing

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 21: Death Mark On An X-Wing**

Luke arrived at the Jedi Academy without incident. Touching down about an hour before the initiates arrived, he had just enough time for a quick wash-up and a change of clothes before he had to return to the hangar to receive his new pupils – a male Twilek, three humans (a male Corellian, and two other young girls from Outer Rim planets whose names Luke had forgotten), two female Mon Calamari and a male Devanorian.

_Seven new Jedi Knights._ _Ben, I wish you could be here today._ Feeling a pang of sadness wash over him, he concluded his short welcome speech. "I want to take this opportunity to thank Knight Kirana Ti for undertaking the mission to collect all of you from your respective home planets." Kirana Ti accepted the thanks with a slight tilt of her head. Luke continued. "I hope that you will be happy here. We are all here to learn, but it is a very different environment for all of us. Learn to adapt to each other, and respect each other above all." He looked around at the newcomers, and smiled. "Welcome to the Jedi Academy."

The newcomers murmured their thanks, but Luke held up his hand for silence again. "Your first lesson begins here." Eyes grew round as the new initiates took in this information with a start of surprise. _Mainly because you guys are too noisy!_ Luke thought.

He lowered his hand. "This will be your first, but most important lesson – not just for you, but for keeping the order around the Academy. Knight Kam, Tionne, Streen, Kyp, Kirana Ti, Cilghal and myself will be approaching you individually, and teach you how to shield your thoughts from everyone." As he called their names, each Knight stepped forward to one new initiate.

Stepping forward to the Devanorian, he reached out slowly in the Force, and showed the young Force adept how to build and seal his mental shields from the outside world. He undid his work, and encouraged Darren to try it for himself. Nodding in understanding, Darren rebuilt his mental shield perfectly. Luke smiled and clapped his shoulder. "Excellent work." Darren grinned. "Thank you, Master Luke."

"I should thank you instead. All your thoughts were making so much noise!" Smiling at him to convey that it was meant as a joke, Luke turned to the other initiates, who had also completed their first exercise.

"With that shield, you should be able to keep your thoughts private, and it should stay firm even when you are asleep." He stepped back to regard them. "We will teach you other methods of shielding, with varying levels of awareness, but you'll soon find that keeping this shield in place will become as natural to you as breathing." They were nodding their head in agreement, the two young girls wide-eyed with wonder.

"Tionne will show the ladies to their quarters, and Kyp will bring the men to theirs. Along the way, they'll also point out other amenities such as the canteen, the 'freshers, exercise rooms and classrooms. You don't have to remember it all just yet; there's a map of the place in the welcome pack on your beds. Kyp will meet you at breakfast tomorrow, and go over the training schedule for your batch. Remember to wear your training robes; breakfast will be served between seven hundred hours and nine hundred hours, Coruscant Standard Time. Tionne, Kyp." With that, he dismissed the group, leaving them to Tionne and Kyp.

While the rest of the Knights disappeared into the bowels of the Academy building, Kirana Ti walked to Luke's side.

"You look tired, Master Luke."

Luke smiled wanly. "I do? I feel rather strange. I meditated while I was on my way here, but it didn't really refresh me. I think it must have been the rush in which I left." Although there was no rebuke in Luke's voice, she lowered his head. "I'm sorry Master Luke, we should have informed Kam earlier…"

Luke shook his head as they walked down the corridors to the Knight quarters. "I understand, don't worry. Which was the mechanical wizard again? The one who boosted the engines?"

Kirana Ti sighed. "Apparently, being a mechanical wizard is more lucrative than being a Jedi Knight. On our way back, we stopped at Centares for supplies and some minor repairs, and Lucieno was offered a very lucrative position as hyperdrive mechanic."

Luke nodded. "That's along the Perlemian Trade Route; he'll be repairing hyperdrives for a long time."

"I tried to persuade him to come along with us and meet you first, but he disappeared that night, and we could not find him." She sounded frustrated, and Luke turned towards her.

"We never force anyone to come here," he told her gently. "They come on their own accord, or not at all." He patted her shoulder. "You have done your job well, and there are seven added to our number now. Seven more than yesterday." He pushed her gently towards the entrance to the female section of the Academy's personal quarters. "Now please, take a well-deserved rest. I'm sure Tionne has scheduled you for at least a week of rest, after that long trip."

"Yes, Master Luke." She straightened up. "Goodnight, Master Luke."

"Goodnight, Kirana Ti. Remember: seven added to our number."

"Could have been eight, though," he thought he heard her mumble as he turned towards his quarters. Smiling to himself, he reached out with the Force, unlocked his door and stepped in. _Home at last._

-----

Shucking his old Jedi robe, he shook it out and hung it in his cupboard. _Better take that new one out and hang out the wrinkles too,_ he thought, walking over to his carryall. Upturning it and dumping all its contents on his bed, he shook out the new robes and hung them up, and returned all the other items to their regular places in his room. Tossing the carryall into a corner, he walked towards his worktable and logged into his holonet account. And grinned. _Two messages with Mara's encryption, and two from Leia._ _Or Han._

His fingers hovering over the data entry pad, he wondered whose message he should read first. _Leia_ _then._ Selecting the first message, he was surprised to see that it contained no message, but was a recording of the same holoshow that had featured him and the children earlier that week.

Luke stared in morbid fascination as a grainy, black-and-white video of him and Mara outside her apartment played.

"…_which was sent in by an anonymous person, showing what looks like Luke Skywalker sitting on the floor, with yet another unknown woman! Looks like the Jedi Master certainly gets a lot done when he visits Coruscant!"_

The message ended with no message. _Stars, that was hot to watch. Must have been from a security camera._ Loosening his tunic, he selected the other message with the Organa-Solo encryption. _Another recording?_

The screen winked on, and Luke gasped. A finger was holding a black thong up close to the camera. _Oh no._ The finger and thong receded, and Luke grimaced to see Han's grinning face on the screen. Looking extremely gleeful and grinning widely, Han sat back in his chair, and twirled the thong around his finger. He started nodding in approval.

"Well, well." _Just spit it out, Solo._ "Well, well."

Luke rubbed his eyes with one hand, still grimacing. _Better Han than Leia… I think._

Han stopped twirling the thong, and put it on the table top in front of him. Still smiling. Luke sighed. _Cut to the chase, Han._

Han leaned in closer to the camera, nodding in approval. "I'm so proud of you, kid." And grinned wider. "You gonna tell me who she is, or do I have to guess? Although," Han pretended to look confused. "Leia did tell me that you and Jade spent the night together when you were here last, and that's good enough for me." He grinned again. "I tell you, kid, I've never been so entertained by dry-cleaning before."

_Dry-cleaning?_ Han's recording continued without stopping.

"She sent one of your new Jedi robes out to clean, and I had to get them…" _One of?_ _She made more than one?_ "And imagine my surprise when I saw this," he picked up the thong again, "slung over the hanger."

Luke groaned, and covered his eyes, not wanting to endure Han's grin any longer. "However," Han continued. "I'm sorry to inform you that this little thing is as clean as the droids could probably get it." Luke opened his eyes again, wondering when Han would end. "The question that I have for you now, kid," Han leaned forward toward the camera again. "Is whether you want to return the panties, or should I?" He winked, and the message ended, leaving Luke glaring at an empty screen.

_Don't you dare, Han._

He selected the first of Mara's two messages, slightly annoyed at his lapse in attention. It was a text message, and very terse.

_**Your X-Wing is dead, and so are you.**_

He managed a small smile at her message, and opened the other one.

_**I'm coming with your Academy's droid spare parts. ETA 5 days. Dinner?**_

Checking the datestamp on her message, he was happy to see that she was due in only two more days. _Must have left right after me,_ he thought.

His smile grew larger as he moved to reply to her message.

_**Can't stay away from me, I see.**_

He sent the message to her account with a wide grin on his face, then stretched out on the bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.


	22. Look Mara, No Hands!

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 22: Look Mara, No Hands!**

Although he thought that the next two days would pass slowly as he waited for Mara to arrive, the new training schedule kept him engrossed enough to occasionally forget that she was coming. So it was with some surprise that he felt Mara approaching his quarters one afternoon. And closing fast.

_Kriff, forgot!_

_Forgot to shield as well, Jedi._ He heard her dry tone in his head.

_I am shielding!_

_Apparently, not enough for me._

_Ah, but that's where you're special, Jade._

She reached his door. _Open up._

_Open it yourself._

_There's no handle._

_We changed the locks after someone stole a ship off this planet. Wouldn't want people to think that security in the Jedi Order was poor._

He felt her impatience in the Force, still wondering a little at the clarity of their connection. _Plus, I'm broad-shielding now,_ he thought. _She shouldn't be getting anything from me._ He tightened his shields, but left the connection between him and Mara open.

_There's no locks on the door, and no handle either. Am I supposed to just yank it off its hinges?_

_There aren't any visible hinges, Jade. The whole door's a slab of rock with an internal catch carved into one of its sides. Feel for the catch to unlock the door._

He felt her feeling for the catches, and smiled as he felt her concentrating. His catch was more complicated than the normal quarter locks – he had designed it himself, just for fun, as well as to deter Jedi initiates who might think to pry into his quarters. She dropped the first catch.

_I'm just going to blast this door in._

_It's stone, Jade. Even your lightsaber would take some time to cut through it._

She snorted mentally. _Explosives, then. What a waste of time!_

_Patience, Jade. Good things come to those who wait. And aren't I a good thing?_

He felt her smile, despite her annoyance.

_Spare me from deluded Jedi Masters._

_Just pretend I'm a damsel in distress._

_And what am I?_ He felt her incredulous amusement at his suggestion.

_Me, of course._

_I'm rolling my eyes, Jedi. Oh look, there they are, rolling away on the floor, leaving me blind._

_What a pity, never to look upon my countenance again._

_I'm gonna be leaving with them, if I don't get this door open soon._

_Oh dear, she's really annoyed,_ Luke thought. Reaching out to her, he showed her how to trigger the catches in sequence so that the bearings aligned.

The door opened, and Mara stepped in.

"Come to surrender?"

Her eyes flashed at him as he closed the door. "Business first. I brought the battle droid parts that Kam ordered; Karrde picked up the contract for this run from that droid facility of yours, so there's no invoice for this transaction because the facility is picking up the tab, and – "

"Take a breath before you pass out."

"– and I've gotten that droid of yours to pass the message on to whomever to move the crates which I left on the hangar bay floor, so – "

Luke bent forward and kissed her, and she went still.

_Do you fold, Jedi?_

_Never, Jade. Just saying hi._

"Hi." She said against his lips. Taking advantage of her open mouth, he thrust his tongue into her mouth.

_This feels like you're losing, Skywalker._

_I don't think so, Jade._

They were still standing apart, their lips the only part of their bodies touching. Their mouths clashed, and their tongues duelled again, playing, both already familiar with the other's responses, yet learning more, yearning for more.

Either determined not to give in.

Luke was trying very, very hard not to slam his body into hers, and he was keenly aware of Mara's struggle as well.

Their tongues still parried as their bodies raged and resisted.

_Fold, Jade._

_Never, Jedi._

_It's inevitable. Don't fight it._

_Nothing's inevitable._

_We are._

Thrust. Parry. Their bodies still not touching. Luke's hands were fisted by his sides, clenching so hard that his knuckles were white. Struggling not to touch her.

_Give in, Jedi. You get sex in return._

_No. No. No._

He felt her mouth quirk against his at his inability to answer coherently. She sucked in his lower lip chewed on it gently before releasing it.

_It's all or nothing, Jade._

_So what are we doing right now?_

_Fighting._

_Interesting way of putting it._

He felt her move. Pulling off her jacket. He opened his eyes and met hers, open and amused.

_What the…?_

_Fold, Jedi._

Chagrined, he nearly broke their kiss.

_That's cheating, Jade!_

_All's fair in love and war._ She dropped her jacket to the floor, and started unbuttoning her jumpsuit.

_You play dirty, Jade._ And he began unfastening his own tunic. Smiling against her lips as she muttered a Huttese curse against his mouth. He closed his eyes again, enjoying the tongueplay.

_And you talk dirty too. Anything else I should know about you?_

_I'm very hot, and very bothered. And very ready. All it takes is for you to say yes to me._

Dropping his tunic on the floor and unfastening his pants with some delicacy, he was almost desperate enough to consider her request. Almost.

_Nice try, Jade. But I'm very hot, and very bothered as well. Would you like to try anything dirty with me?_

_Not unless you go first._

She was wiggling a little, wavering around their kiss as she struggled to get her jumpsuit off. Opening his eyes, he went a little cross-eyed as he tried to look down while maintaining their kiss. He could feel her merriment in the Force when she realised what he was trying to do.

_Break the kiss and you lose._

_Which is why I'm still doing this._ Turning his head to face the other side, he just managed not to break contact with her mouth. His neck thanked him for the change in position.

He toed off his boots and kicked off his pants, and felt her do the same.

_Wearing a bra today, Jade?_

_Why, no, Jedi, now that you mention it. It's liberating. And there's so much less to take off when you want to screw a Jedi Master senseless._ She seemed happy with the change in position as well.

_Is your mouth getting tired?_ He asked her.

_Do you fold?_

_No._

_Then no._ She started making moaning sounds, breaking the silence of the room, and causing Luke's undershorts to tent at a more acute angle.

_You're such a cheater, Jade._

_No more than you, Mister Vandal. You're lucky that your little message didn't mark my ship._

_I made sure it was water-soluble ink._

She grunted against his mouth, and kept moaning. He retaliated by sending her images of their time together.

_Oh look, here's one of you climaxing. Oh, and here's another one of you, climaxing yet again. And another one._

She upped the ante by starting to moan his name through their kisses. "Luuuke, ooh, yesss, Luuuke…"

Luke's hairs stood on end and his toes curled at her breathless voice. His hands clenched and shook with the exertion of not throwing her down and impaling himself on her. He forced his hands to his waist, and pushed his undershorts down. Breathing hard from the effort, he kicked his undershorts away, not seeing where it went. He had stopped sending Mara mental pictures, his whole being concentrated on not moving anything but his mouth.

Mara had not stopped moaning, which was making Luke harder than he thought he could be. She sensed his weakness, and started moaning faster, like she was about to climax.

"Oh yesss, Luke, yes, yes, oh you feel so good, oh yesss…"

Luke shut his eyes tight and thought of stone doors, and where they were manufactured.

"Yesss, Luuuke, oh yesss, yessss, come on, harder, harder…"

Luke couldn't hold it in anymore. He clamped down hard on her mouth and came. Hard.

-----

_A/N: Oh hey, look! Just one word changed. One teeny, weensy word! Edited carefully for your pleasure. And are you guys reading without commenting? Tsk, tsk._


	23. I Just Can’t Get You Out Of My Head

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 23: I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Head**

Luke vaguely remembered moaning tonelessly into Mara's mouth as he came over her. Coming back to his senses, he stood rubbery-legged, with his mouth still against Mara's.

_At least I didn't lose._

_Didn't you just lose?_

_I didn't fold._ "And my mouth's still here," he said against hers.

They had stopped kissing, though their lips were still against each others'.

"But you came."

"Involuntary reaction. I can't help it."

"On me."

"I didn't touch you, and I didn't touch myself." _Fair's fair, Jade._

Fighting a wave of grogginess, he waited for her answer, willing himself not to fall asleep.

_Oh, alright then, _she grumbled in his mind. _Truce?_

_Truce._

They finally broke apart, and Luke had his first look at her. Her mouth was bruised red. She was wiping her mouth with her hand and regarding herself, dropping a stained thong on the floor with the other hand. _Oh kriff, what a mess._ Looking at her apologetically, he walked to his 'fresher and got a wet towel. He walked over to her and was about to hand it to her when he decided to do it himself.

_Looks like you weren't all play-acting, Jade,_ he thought tightly to himself as he wiped her belly, putting him face to face with her breasts.

He was about to lick the pointed tips, consequences be damned, when the Academy com unit in his room buzzed. Sighing a little inwardly, he handed the towel to Mara and walked over to it.

"Skywalker."

"Luke, it's Kam. Mara Jade has just delivered the droid parts, and Artoo says that she's on her way to your quarters."

_A little late for the heads-up, Kam,_ Luke thought wryly as he looked over at Mara.

"Yes, I know, she's here. Could you make sure that we are not disturbed? We're having a little… argument about something, which might take some time to resolve."

"Of course. Would you like dinner sent to your room?"

"That's not necessary. Just keep everyone away from my quarters for the time being."

"As you wish." The comlink clicked off, and Luke turned back to Mara.

_Stars! That is just too sexy to be true._ Mara was facing him, one leg up on his bed, and was busy wiping his indiscretion from between her legs. _You look like you're enjoying yourself there._

On impulse, he sent her a montage of mental images, and she shuddered and gave a small cry. She breathed hard, and sat on his bed abruptly.

He walked over to her. "Looks like we're even."

Although she was still twitching a little, she threw the towel at him shakily in response. He caught it and rinsed it in the 'fresher sink, then hung it up on a rail. Mara was lying in his bed with her back on him.

_Miss Jade, on my bed, completely naked. Jedi Master, unable to get it up due to mind-blowing non-contact climax. What does one do in a situation like this?_

She turned over to face him. "Skywalker, could you not _think_ so loudly? What is the matter with your shields?"

Surprised, and a little distracted by her breasts, he looked into her face. "But I am shielding!"

"You're not!"

"In an Academy full of Force sensitives, I'm having sex, and you think I won't be shielding?"

"We're not having sex! Why are you so loud in my head?"

Luke stopped short. _I am loud in her head?_

"Yes, you're very loud, and it's driving me crazy! This is what happened that night of the reception! You were _thinking_ so loudly that I was dampening you for the first hour, and then gave up because it was too tiring, and started shielding myself against you."

He sat down on the bed, puzzled. Testing his shields, he found nothing wrong with them. _They're fine,_ he thought quietly to himself, testing the situation.

Mara slapped the bed with a palm. "They are not fine! I want my space back!"

He frowned hard, and sat cross-legged on the bed. He held out his hands to her. "Show me where you're hearing me from."

She sighed, but sat up anyway. Taking his hands, they closed their eyes and concentrated on the Force.

Luke popped one eye open. _Why do we always have these conversations naked?_

She slapped his wrists. _Shut up, Jedi._ _I need you out of my head._

-----

They came out of the meditation a few hours later. They had spent the time tracing the source of Luke's voice in Mara's head, which was buried in the far recesses of her mind. When they found it, they were both surprised and stunned to discover that the connection was old, and ran both ways. While there, Mara had asked him: _Then why don't you hear me as well?_

_I'm hearing you loud and clear._

_You know what I mean._

_I… I'm not sure. Let's find out._

They had retraced their steps and delved into Luke's mind, following the tendril, which was an uncomfortable experience for Luke. He tried shielding some of his more private memories from Mara, but that impeded their progress, so he shrugged mentally, and gave up after a while.

_Welcome to me, Mara._

_Been there, done that, bought the tunic, watched the holoshow._

They waded through Luke's mind, and both saw the other end of the tendril.

_Looks like you have to develop a new layer of shields if you want your space back, dearest._

Feeling her "look" at his shield, he felt her withdraw from his mind, and form one of her own.

"That feels so much better." Mara spoke. Luke kept his eyes closed. Keeping his regular shields, he thought again quietly to himself, testing her shields. _Mara Jade, you're not getting any dinner tonight._

"Could you hear that?" he asked, eyes still closed.

Mara took a deep breath, and expelled it. "No. It's all nice and quiet again."

Luke opened his eyes as she got off the bed and started picking up her clothes. _Nice ass, Mara Jade. Keep bending over._

"I wonder why you could hear me sometimes, but not all the time. I know for sure that you couldn't have heard all that I was thinking." _Or you would have shot me where I stood._

"No idea." Mara was rinsing out her thong (red today, Luke noted) in his sink, and his libido was rising again from just watching her. _Whoever knew we were such nudists?_ He thought with some amusement. She finished at the sink, hung the thong beside the towel, then bent over (_I could watch you do that all day_, Luke thought) and pulled out a towel from beneath his sink. To Luke's disappointment, she wrapped it around herself.

"Getting shy on me, Jade?"

Turning around, she was about to speak when she saw that certain parts of his anatomy had woken up again. Her gaze flickered to his face.

"We need to talk."

-----

_A/N: Jack the Ripper's been here, circumcising. Push this fic's buttons, yo'._


	24. You Give As Good As You Get

**Standard Disclaimer: **These characters belong to G. Lucas and T. Zahn. In other words: not mine.  
**Dedication: **To anyone who loves hot chocolate.  
**Rating: M  
****Spoilers/Timeline: **After _The Corellian Trilogy_ but before "Vision of the Future".  
**A/N: **Do read and review.

**Lightheaded  
****Chapter 24: (You Give) As Good As You Get**

"We need to talk."

_Those eternal words which damn men to their doom,_ Luke thought in wry amusement. He gestured to his lap and mock-leered at her.

"So sit down, and we'll talk."

Ignoring him, she walked to the side of the bed and sat down gingerly on the edge of it. Luke sighed inwardly, and prepared himself for questions he knew he couldn't answer. Her questions came.

"Why do we have that link?

"I don't know."

"It was old."

"Yes."

"How did it form?"

"I don't know."

"Why… this is just…"

"Too bizarre?"

"Frightening."

They paused, Mara shifting on the bed to get more comfortable. Luke shifted as well, his ardour cooling.

"Look, I don't know why it happened or how it happened. All I know is that you could have learned to shield a lot earlier if you had completed your training…"

"Oh, you and the training! Always the training!" Mara frowned and brushed her hair irritably away from her face.

"You have to admit that I'm right," he said evenly.

Her escaped locks hovering around her face like a fire, she shook her head. "I am fine where I am. I am _happy_ where I am. I don't need to be a Jedi. I don't need your Academy. I don't need you!" He caught her gesticulating hand and pulled it against his chest.

"But I need you, Jade," he said huskily. Slowly, he pulled her towards him, and she came, unresisting. "I need you, like you need me." Resisting the urge again to pull her onto his erection, he rested his forehead on hers, their eyes closed.

"We've got a connection, Jade, and I don't mean just in the Force."

His eyes opened, and he stared into her green ones, filling with tears. Her eyes narrowed, and her tears spilled onto his chest, but she shoved him away.

"No!"

She got off the bed, grabbing her clothes and started to dress. Frustrated, he stood up and marched in front of her.

"Gods, Mara, what will it take for me to prove that I love you?"

She flung her jumpsuit down. "You can't do that!"

"Why in kriff's sake not?"

"Because it's not fair!"

"What's not fair?"

"Love!"

They paused, panting a little from their yelling.

"Look, Skywalker," she said a little shakily. "Maybe this whole competition thing just got a little out of hand."

He shook his head. "It may have, but I'm not sorry it started." He walked to her, and cupped her face, thumbing away her tears.

"Won't you try, green-eyes?" he whispered, their foreheads touching again. "Won't you try for us?"

He felt her hands on his wrists. Removing them from her face.

_No…_ He felt dejection creeping into his belly, and tears sprang into his eyes. Keeping them steadfastly closed as she drew his hands to the front of his chest. Clenching tighter around his wrists.

"Why'd you have to push so hard, Luke? Why'd you have to push. So. Hard." Whispering and punctuating her sentence by shaking his wrists hard.

He opened his eyes.

"Because you give as good as you get, Jade." She smiled through her tears.

"I hate you."

"I love you."

"You said that already."

"But you haven't."

"I…" Not daring to breathe, Luke's heartbeat sounded loud in his ears.

"I love you." The knot in Luke's stomach eased, and he smiled. A wide, huge smile. _Calm down, Jedi._ _It would be such a stupid waste if you had a heart attack now._

Mara had dropped her head, hiding her face from him behind her errant locks. He drew her chin up with a hand.

"You getting shy on me, Jade?"

Her response was to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him senseless.

-----

Their lovemaking was slower this time around. More emotional.

"I love you," Luke said more than once.

"I hate you," she always said in reply, no venom in her words. But she always followed it up with a whisper in his ear. "I love you too."

When he entered her, he saw stars. "I love you, oh Gods, I love you. Marry me, Mara."

"What?" She stopped moving, and he thrust into her to finish sheathing himself. Surrounded by her, he repeated his request firmly.

"Marry me, Mara."

She shook her head, and he frowned. "Ask me again later, Jedi."

"Mara… come on."

Sitting up and pulling him out of her, she pushed him down on the bed and straddled him. Looking him in the eye, she shook her head.

"Ask me again later, Jedi. This is NOT the story I am going to tell our children."

_Our childr…? Oh Mara!_

He grabbed her head and kissed her.

-----

Later on that night, after they had sated themselves on each other, Luke looked on her countenance as she slept.

_I love you, Mara Jade. Now and forever._

He smiled, still slightly giddy when he thought of her. Of them. _It was only supposed to be a simple reception._

He closed his eyes, still smiling. Feeling giddy. Feeling… lightheaded. For Mara's questing hand was creeping across his thigh.

-----

"Han Solo! Whose underwear is this?"

_fin_

_-----_

_A/N: That's a wrap, folks! Now... you know the drill. Time for you to thank me for writing this, and to tell me how great (or not) it was :-). Thank you for reading!_


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